Invader Zim: The Life Debt
by Nitocolus
Summary: The story is about Dib owing Zim a life debt and it picks up from there. DaTr, ZaGr, DaZf, temporary DibxZita, Lizard Boy is a major character and gets a background story, and hinted GaMr! Now complete!
1. Zim saves Dib

**Ok, so I'm an IZ fan. Not a fanatic because I have yet to see all the episodes. Anyway, this fic is just something I've been typing up. As of typing this intro, I have 7 chapters completed. Characters of interest are Dib, Zim and Gaz obviously, Gir, Tak, MiMi, and oddly enough (maybe even a Fanfic first), Lizard Boy. Couples are DaTr, ZaGr, Dib and Zita for a period, and hinted GaMr. LB will end up with someone, too. So read and enjoy.**

Dib chased his arch nemesis, the Irken Invader Zim, towards the abandoned district of the city. The Invader had grown in the years since his arrival, and though not near as tall as the 16-year-old Dib, he was taller than either his sister, Gaz or half the other children at the skool.

"Listen, Dib-stink!" Zim called back to the paranormal investigator, "This game of ours has gone on for several of your pitiful Earth years, and a few superior Irken years as well! What do you say to just backing off and I promise I won't destroy you or the Gaz-human?" Zim asked, turning a corner into an alleyway.

"What's the matter, Zim? Afraid I'll expose you for the alien scum you are?" Dib asked in his snarky tone, enjoying the chase a little too well. "Not at all, Earth-stink! But I can't help but notice that in the four years I've been here, you've yet to expose me to anyone!" Zim laughed viciously as Dib emerged around the corner.

"Yeah, but you've failed to conquer Earth because of me as well!" Dib retorted. Zim growled as legs emerged from his PAK and he began to scale the walls of the alley with them. The old brick crumbled under his weight and he plummeted to the ground, landing gracefully on his spidery appendages.

Dib looked up in awe at the coming debris. He was startled by it. In a flash of an instant he saw his entire life flash before his eyes. Everything he'd ever done: most of it chasing Zim or other paranormal studies, but some happier memories like his time with Tak, or a few family outings, or the time he dated Zita for a month, or when he dated Gretchin for two. Things he'd experienced in small measures and never would again.

A sound of thunder erupted in his ears and he was dead.

Or at least that's what he thought until he opened his eyes and saw he was several feet above the ground. He looked back to see, of all people, Zim keeping him from dropping those few feet from their position on Zim's PAK legs.

"Z-Zim… You s—saved me…" Dib let out in measures of disbelief.

Zim quickly dropped the human in disgust. Why had he rescued the miserable pig-smelly that constantly interfered with his plans? What in the name of Irk could make him do that?

"Oh, thank you Zim!" Dib was overcome with emotion. The near-death experience left him a bit more unnerved than it usually did and he was speaking faster than he could think. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Zim, his legs receded into his PAK, began to take a few cautionary steps backwards, worried at Dib's irrational behaviour. "Dib-human; what is the matter with your words? They seem… unnaturally grateful coming from your pathetic mouth!" Zim insulted rather than asked, but Dib was still continuing his ranting thanks.

And then Dib said it. It slipped out of his mouth and caught the attention of his nemesis. Dib had been so involved in his thanks he hadn't noticed the words, but Zim had: "I owe you a life debt!"

Dib realized what he said and immediately stopped. Zim grinned viciously and approached him. "What was that, Dib-human?" He asked in an intrigued, menacing tone. "N-nothing Zim!" Dib lied. "LIES! Tell Zim what this 'life-debt' is or I shall reveal to the Gaz-human who saved over her pitiful filed game!" Zim threatened.

Dib cleared his throat. Serving his archenemy was probably a better alternative than whatever his sister would do to him for overwriting her game data the one time he decided to play it. He hadn't touched another game yet out of fear and guilt. "Very well, Zim. I shall tell you what a life debt is." Dib began reluctantly out of defeat.

"A life-debt is where one person's life is saved by another and the saved owes the saver his or her services until the life debt is repaid." Dib described in varying tones to try and make it seem unappealing, but Zim understood the concepts of human slaves very well.

"So you owe me your life in services?" Zim asked with a wide smile. Dib scowled but nodded slowly. "Excellent!" Zim shouted to the heavens. "From now on, Dib-human, you are to refer to me as the Almighty Zim! And I shall refer to you as Dib-drone." Zim declared. Dib growled but agreed. It could be worse.

"You shall also do my homework! Zim has better things to do than to busy himself with the disgusting Earth-papers to be graded." Zim ordered. Dib agreed because, well, it wasn't hard to copy his answers onto Zim's paper.

"Furthermore," Zim continued, "you shall help Zim in claiming this pitiful dirt-rock." Dib was shocked. "I'm not helping you conquer Earth!" Dib retorted. Zim smiled. "Ah, but pitiful human, your life is indebted to me. Do my bidding or I'm afraid I shall collect said debt." Zim said. Dib quirked an eyebrow. "Are… are you threatening to kill me?" Dib asked. Zim laughed. "I could, I am ZIM! But no. I would rather inform your sibling, the fang-haired one, of the game incident and she'd more than likely do you in. You're out of the way and Zim avoids capture for the crime." Zim explained. Clever bastard.

Dib thought long and hard about it. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. If Zim used him in his plans he could potentially botch them up and cover it by saying he is a weak human. Then Zim's ego would come into play and he'd be lost in a rant.

"Very well, Zim. I accept your terms. I assume after Earth is conquered I am relieved of my debt?" Dib asked. Zim looked surprised for him to submit so easily. "Of course, human. And if you don't try anything, I might even reward you with, I don't know, the province of Chicago?" Zim mustered up a city from geography. Dib noticed the suspicious tone in Zim's voice.

"Anyway, Dib-human," Zim said as he called for his malfunctioning SIR to pick him up, "I require your services tomorrow, after school." Zim ordered. Dib glared at Zim. "Tomorrow's Saturday, Zim; no school." Dib stated. Zim let out a trademark dumbfounded "Heh?" Before rethinking the plan. "How about tonight and tomorrow? More work can be accomplished!" Zim asked.

"Zim, I have family that might miss me! It could be… Suspicious!" Dib lied. In all honesty, he just didn't want to bother with being Zim's lackey so soon and didn't know what his father would say. Zim shrugged. "Just tell your parental units it is, how the pig-smellies say, a 'sleepover'." Zim suggested. "We're sixteen, Zim! I don't think my father would fall for that!" Dib groaned.

Dib was forced to attempt the ruse thanks to the life debt. "Dad?" Dib asked over his wrist communicator. "Who is this?" Professor Membrane responded back over the communicator. "It's your son! Dib!" Dib responded in surprise. "Oh yes! The insane one…" Membrane muttered thoughtfully to himself. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could sleep over at a friend's house tonight." Dib ventured. "Of course, son. It's good for you to socialize with your peers. I thought you were calling about some alien again. Man am I relieved!" Membrane chuckled before the transmission ended.

Dib's face was wide in a mixture of awe and a tiny bit of disappointment at his father. "Well, Dib-human, I suggest you join me back to the base for the plans to be written up." Zim smirked victoriously. Gir had arrived and was in the middle of chatting with a fire hydrant about squirrel tacos, whatever that was. "Gir! Prepare for transport back to the base for the Dib-human and myself!" Zim ordered. Gir turned red and saluted. "Yes, my master!" He exclaimed before returning to his normal ecstatic self.

Zim got on the green dog's square head and put Dib on the robot's shoulders. Immediately they rocketed into the air and headed for Zim's base.

**Chapter 1 Complete! Please R&R.**


	2. Zim's Plan

Dib and Zim dismounted the disguised robot and walked into Zim's house. His malfunctioning parents were there to greet him. "Hello, son! How was skool?" They asked. Zim ignored them, knowing they did not require an answer.

"Zim is plotting something BIG, pathetic Dib-drone!" Zim boasted, "I am proud to say it is my finest plan ever to either destroy or conquer this world, but as amazing as Zim is, I require the aide of someone who can blend more into society. That's where you come in." Zim explained as he and Gir shed their disguises.

Dib nodded to show he was listening and understood. Regardless of the other times he snuck into Zim's base or Tak's superior base, Dib was still awed by the advanced alien technology. "The first thing I need you to do is to blend in more, and for that, you must first stop treating me like an alien invader and second find a pig-smelly mating friend." Zim explained.

Dib shook his head. The quit talking about Zim being an alien he could understand, but the girlfriend? Why was that important? "You want me to get a girlfriend as part of your plan? How is that going to help?" Dib asked. "Stupid, stinking human." Zim shook his head with a small grin, "It will help you blend into society more! Think of it like an espionage job; you're into those things, right?" Zim asked.

Dib grumbled and complained but agreed he would try the dating thing. He reminded Zim how things with Tak had gone wrong when she turned out to be an alien, or how Zita had broken up with him for being to obsessed with Zim, or how Gretchin had become shallow when her braces were removed and she prettied up and left Dib for 'better suitors'.

"Yes, yes. Zim understands how pathetic the Dib-drone is, but the act of courtship and mating is pathetic anyway. So, that means you should be good at it." Zim reasoned. Dib pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment at Zim's analysis skills. For knowing how to blackmail someone, Zim sure didn't know a lot about dating or other human traditions.

"Wait, how do Irkens reproduce?" Dib asked, changing the subject. "We are bred through advances in genetic engineering and 'hatched' from tubes. Then we're educated by machinery and forced into a rigorous conscription training regime. Only the mightiest survive on Irk! And ZIM IS MIGHTY!" Zim declared.

"You're a test-tube baby?" Dib asked in disbelief. "Foolish human! The tube method is far more complicated and superior to human tube baby-ing!" Zim stated. "But essentially it's the same principal?" Dib asked. Zim was quiet for a moment before admitting it was.

"But we are getting off task! You are to find a mating friend!" Zim ordered. Dib sighed. There was no way this would be easy; he was an 'undesirable' to most of the school. A freak, a nerd and just downright despised. Perhaps it was a ruse by Zim to destroy his self-esteem even further.

…

Dib arrived at school with Zim the following Monday. Zim and Dib walked into together talking about homework to give the appearance they'd gotten over their differences. Several people raised eyebrows at the sight of Dib and Zim talking to each other in a non-threatening format.

Through three periods they sat in the same room, not even glancing at each other threateningly once. Finally it was lunch period and Zim ordered Dib to seek out a girlfriend for the mission. At first Dib was wondering if he should flop on purpose just to sabotage Zim's mission, or whether any girl would like him if he acted like himself anyway.

Oh well, might as well try with the girls he dated first. He approached Gretchin, who was surrounded by several of the more catty girls in the school and a few boys. "Hey Gretch." Dib waved nervously at her. She glared at him and the others followed suit. "So, uh… What are you doing this we—" Dib was cut of as Gretchin ordered "Leave, now!". Dib quickly vacated the group.

Dib sighed and approached Zita. She was the same old Zita, hanging out with the same old friends. Still pretty, quiet, and loyal to her friends in an argument or fight. Dib still felt bad over the whole Pig Boy incident. He took a deep breath and approached the lavender-haired pale girl who still wore the odd colours of orange and purple.

"Hey Zita." Dib began nervously. His long coat ran down to his buckled boots. Puberty had been kind to him and hadn't cursed him with obesity nor acne. He merely looked like a taller version of his former self, but with a more average sized head. It was still large, it just wasn't that large.

Zita looked at him and her eyes widened slightly. Dib wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Dib?" Zita asked in surprise. Dib almost let out a breath of surprise. She hadn't threatened or hurt him yet, so she might…

"Zita, I was wondering when was the last time we hung out?" Dib asked. He was reluctant to go through with this, considering it was a step in Zim's plan for world domination, but at the same time, well, ever since his life flashing before his eyes and the memories of the good times with people who showed an interest in him, he sort of wanted to go back to those times.

Zita's eyelids squinted or merely hung low inquisitively, which one, Dib was not quite sure. "Not since a week before I dumped you." Zita responded. Ouch. Dib saw it coming though, and whether it was his brain conspiring to go along with Zim's plan to learn more about it or his heart wanting to have someone care about him, Dib sat next to Zita and began to talk with her, from his heart.

"I'm done with Zim. We… reached an understanding." Dib stated. Zita quirked an eyebrow. When she dated him, it had started off from her having a slight crush. It was just one of those girlish crushes one gets for an odd reason no one quite understands. She had asked Dib out in a subtle manner, but he didn't pick up on it. Then she just asked if they could hang out at something he'd like to hang out at; a UFO convention. He had ranted and raved about aliens and the two had a good time. Dib even got her a little alien plushy because of how she hinted at it.

Still, that had been a crush that quickly died down after she realized how obsessed he was with Zim. It was more an obsession than just him theorizing he was an alien. Sure, during a glimmering moment with Dib Zita began to question if Zim were an alien or not, but it had gotten way too out of hand and she broke it off.

"You resolved your issues?" Zita asked in a combination of sarcasm and disbelief. Dib nodded. "And you what? Why are you talking to me?" Zita asked, still not exactly sure why she was talking to him.

Dib bit his lip and contemplated what to do. If he waited to long, she'd turn around and ignore him out of anger. If he told her the truth she'd realize he was still obsessed with Zim, or at least seemed that way. If he went through with it, well, he would be doing what Zim ordered and possibly putting her at risk as well as the rest of the Earth.

Now or never.

"I want you back." Dib said quietly.

Zita's mouth went slack and he friends who had been talking amongst themselves turned in awe towards them. Dib, the class freak who was too obsessed and zealous of aliens and the paranormal to have a social life, had just shown a basic human emotion of love… and to his ex-girlfriend who left him after a month of dating.

Dib waited for thirteen seconds for a response. It was dead silent in that particular group. Her friends didn't even begin laughing like they usually did when Dib did something stupid. Dib began to sweat. Had this been a mistake?

Zita was still in shock over the event. Dib, who she had had a slight crush on for being so different, had not only changed in the desired way she wanted him to change, but also said he wanted her back, a romantic gesture many thought was beyond Dib's capacity. Zita weighed the options. She was attractive and could have just about any man in the school, even ones that were already in relationships. She had already dated several of the most attractive or athletic guys and found none of them to be quite as intelligent as Dib. Sure Dib seemed self-righteous and crazy, but what really tipped the scale in his favour was the fact he had gotten over the number one cause of her leaving him and wanted her back, two things she never thought he would do.

Dib realized he had been holding his breath and as the thirtieth second of silence passed, his shoulders slumped and he looked at the ground. He was about to get up and leave when he heard Zita mutter something.

His head shot up in disbelief and he let out a "Huh?" Zita was looking at the ground with a slight blush on her cheeks, fiddling with a necklace. "Some of my friends were heading to the carnival in the city and I could… use a ride." Zita let out in small tones.

It was Dib's turn to gaze at her in disbelief. She… said yes? Or was this a second chance? Was it a sick prank? Dib couldn't believe she said yes! Dib stood up slowly and began spewing something about how she wouldn't regret it. "You remember where I live?" Zita asked. Dib said yes and recited the appropriate address from memory. If there was one thing that big head of his was good at, it was memory.

He left Zita's group to go tell his only friend in the whole skool the good news.

…

Gaz looked up from her game slave out of the shock value alone. It seemed like an unemotional glance, but coming from Gaz it was equivalent to a dumbfounded look of disbelief.

Her brother was surprised and happy and telling her about his… date. It just sounded so wrong to her, the words 'Dib' and 'date' in the same sentence in a positive tone. "Who was the poor chick?" Gaz asked in her usual nonchalant manner as she returned to her game. "Zita!" Dib stated. Gaz raised her eyebrows slightly. "Your ex who left you because of your obsession with Zim?" Gaz motioned to the alien sitting across from her and next to Dib.

"Yeah, but—" Dib looked over at the alien. "Don't you usually sit as far away from us as possible?" Dib asked the invader. "Yes, Dib-drone. But thanks to the life debt, I don't have to study you anymore to prepare for an ambush, so I shall sit next to my new human slave and his demon-prodigy, the fang-haired Gaz-human." Zim explained.

Gaz actually paused her game and looked up for an explanation. "Life debt? Human slave?" Gaz asked, "I've got to hear this." And so Zim explained how he had saved Dib's life and how it was now owed to him. Gaz actually let out a few laughs at the expense of her brother. Dib didn't care.

"Anyway, Dib-drone, I shall wait until your relationship picks up and you begin to blend in more before I give you the next portion of your orders, understand?" Zim asked. Dib was compliant due to his preoccupation with his date. That near-death experience had really… really changed his outlook. "Until then you are to come to my house everyday after school unless you are socializing with the other worm-babies in an attempt to blend in. I could use an extra hand around the base since the computer is in repair mode after a virus struck it. Apparently Gir became amused by pop-ups and as mighty as Irken technology is, needless to say, we were unprepared for the filthy guerilla tactics of the Earthanoid 'world wide web'." Zim explained.

Surprisingly the information about Zim's base being weakened didn't appeal Dib at all, but he was a little excited about getting to work with alien technology. Either Zim was stupid and giving Dib such privileges for no reason, or he was being smart and trying to weed out Dib's movements ahead of anything important. Dib was still too preoccupied to care one way or the other.

**Chapter 2 Completed, please R&R.**


	3. Wonderful Date

"Hold Gir down, Dib-drone!" Zim ordered. Dib obeyed and held the little robot down. For being so small, the robot was incredibly resistant, but that was more to faulty programming than to intelligence.

"What's wrong with him?" Dib asked. "I just need him restrained so he quite messing with the power magnifier while we're using it!" Zim explained. Dib knew the robot would not like restraints, nor could actually be restrained. He'd learned that in three days of working in Zim's lab. No, when Zim meant restrain, he meant distract with something else.

"Here's a rubber piggy Gir! Go get it!" Dib said and threw a small rubber piggy out of the room. Gir screeched and ran after it. Dib heard Zim let out a sigh as he returned with the power amplifier. "That should keep him preoccupied for about half an hour. More than enough time to finish the work that needs to be done." Zim stated.

"And what work is that Zim?" Dib asked. "Rebooting the computer, of course! It's been down because of the virus! Now it is repaired and requires an external reboot!" Zim explained. Dib nodded. Made sense. He helped Zim plug the power amplifier into the computer and turned it on.

The computer began to glow and come to life. As it was powering up, Dib felt a vibration in his pocket and retrieved his phone. There was a text message from Zita asking where he was.

Dib's eyes widened as his pupils shrunk. He had forgotten it was Thursday and he had planned a date with Zita. "Sorry Zim! I have to go!" Dib said, not quite sure why he apologized. "What? Where?" Zim demanded. "I have a date with Zita, remember?" Dib called back as he put his coat on and prepared to go up the chute. Zim let out an 'of course' and excused Dib from further duties until the socializing was over.

…

Zita sat on her couch. Dib was supposed to pick her up ten minutes ago. She figured he would have texted her if nothing else. So, she texted him. He wouldn't just blow her off, would he? She waited a few moments.

Zita was about to tear up when her phone let out a ping. She quickly read the message. Dib was on his way, he had lost track of time while working on a project with a friend of his, who remained unnamed. Zita smiled slightly, but didn't know to believe him or not.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, startling her. She opened it and found Dib in his usual garbs, holding a bouquet of violets for her. She smiled. He had remembered her favorite flower, which was surprising considering how he had done all the talking, well, ranting. It was an incredibly nice gesture.

"Oh, thanks Dib." Zita hugged him and he nearly dropped the bouquet from surprise. "It-it was nothing." Dib choked out, chuckling nervously. Zita waited a few moments after Dib handed her the flowers. Eventually Dib realized she was waiting for him. "Oh! Um, shall we go?" Dib gestured to his black sedan with tinted windows. Zita was a little put off by the windows, but didn't complain.

The ride to the carnival was mostly silent. The two exchanged a few strands of small talk. "So, your favourite colour is still blue, right?" Zita asked. Dib nodded. "And yours is still purple?" Dib asked and Zita nodded. "Still into aliens?" Zita asked. Dib wasn't sure if that was a trick question so he asked her one.

"Are you still into botany?" Dib asked. Zita almost gasped. He had remembered she wanted to be a botanist. The career test had her set up as a construction worker, which was odd. She still pursued the botany route, though. "You… you remembered?" Zita asked. Dib almost seemed hurt. "Zita, I might've ranted a lot, but that doesn't mean I never listened. I thought the plushy was a reminder of that." Dib explained. He even remembered the plushy.

The rest of the trip was in awkward silence. They pulled up to the carnival. Like everything else in the city it was filthy, run down, run by deranged lunatics and using antiquated and disturbingly surreal machinery. It still looked like fun to Zita and the other oblivious children and teens of the city.

Dib didn't see much amusement in anything other than uncovering the truth about things. He exited the car and opened the door for Zita. She gave an appreciative thanks and he held out his hand. She grabbed it and the two walked towards the entrance of the carnival.

"Two tickets please; both students." Dib asked the one-eyed carnie in the aged booth behind the cracked safety glass. He wore a filthy shirt, bow tie, candy-striped vest and straw hat. He took the money and gave the two tickets. "Enjoy the carnival." He let out in a wheezing voice. Zita and Dib walked into the carnival.

There were game booths all around and various children from skool. Zita wanted to go onto the old wooden rollercoaster that the carnival had. Dib was a little cautious but couldn't deny her such a simple joy as riding a coaster at a faire. The ride lasted a mere minute and a half, but to Dib it felt like a few hours in heaven. He felt adrenaline rush through him with every fall, heard the happy giggling of the beautiful girl beside him, and felt the wind rush through his scythe-like hair. And most importantly, felt said beautiful girl wrap her arms around his.

They went on other unsafe rides, journeyed through a fun house, and Dib used his surprisingly accurate athletic abilities to win several stuffed prizes for Zita in every type of booth from knocking over milk bottles to throwing darts at balloons to hitting a bell with a hammer. She had many more plushies to decorate her room with now.

Finally, as the night began to wind down and after dropping the plushies off in Dib's sedan, Zita and Dib decided to get their fortunes read. Dib was somewhat skeptical, but always open to the paranormal and Zita just thought it was fun. They walked into a small tent with a sign on the outside that read 'Madame Zilbovka, Fortune Teller and Swami'.

"Hold out your palm, young lady… I'm sensing it is… Z-Zi…" Zilbovka began with Zita. "Zita!" Zita exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you, dear. Now with your fortune." Zilbovka took Zita's hand gingerly. "Oh my." She said, "It seems you'll end up with a heroic young man or a defeated, tired man. It's not quite clear on which one. You'll be happy, but there will be moments of misery and pain, loss and fear. Finally, your life will be adventurous. A very unique fortune, I might say." Zilbovka finished.

She turned to Dib. "Now for your hand… Di-Dill. No, wait… Dib." Zilbovka stated. Dib's eyes widened slightly. She was either really lucky or had some degree of psychic abilities. He handed his hand to her. "Oh my, my, my…" She gasped, "Your life will be turned around viciously by several mistakes. Old enemies will become friends, and you'll be torn between two loves and duty. There will come a great battle and you will fight on one side or the other, but the lines of good and bad will be blurred. Your future is quite… uncertain." Zilbovka admitted to Dib.

Dib was awed by the cryptic messages, even as he drove Zita home and walked her to her front step. He was so enthralled in the messages that it was only after Zita gave him a peck on the cheek he snapped out of it. "I had a wonderful time tonight, Dib." Zita said. Dib smiled. "So did I, Zita. Thanks for the second chance." Dib admitted.

They parted ways and Dib didn't leave until he made sure Zita was safely in the house. He drove back home, happily.

**Chapter 3 Completed, please R&R.**


	4. Tak Returns

The Deelishous Weenie Company plant was empty and decaying. Why she came back to that place, she'll never know. Why didn't she just choose a new base? Why choose this old one full of broken and wasted technology? She wasn't sure why.

Her new ship had many useful gadgets, including her upgraded SIR, MiMi. Tak wondered why she had come back. She wondered why she was alive as well. She had been blasted into space by the people she meant to destroy and had nearly died.

Ironically, she landed on the same planet Zim had been banished to, Foodcourtia, and had been stuck there during the Foodening for twenty years. Irkens could live for several centuries, if they survived that long. Their growth rate was similar to a human, but also different. They grew at a quick rate that slowed down as they aged. The oldest of the Irkens, far in ancient Irk history, had been twelve human feet and possibly taller, but that was after centuries of survival. Being introduced to certain species could speed the growth along, but for Tak it was the fact she had been stuck on a planet for twenty-five years when on Earth it had only been a few months.

In fact, most of her time away from the planet had been her begging for another chance to be an invader, even succeeding various feats and training on Hobo 13 (even earning the highest honours available). Still she was denied her glory and so she used part of her fortune to procure a new ship and various technologies, including several entertainment systems to keep her from being bored or depressed.

But why Earth? Why the site of her biggest failure? Or the site of that boy… The human who she had shown interest in merely to learn Zim's weaknesses. "MiMi, what was the Earth boy's name again?" She asked her deceptive robotic cat. "Dib, my mistress." The cat responded in a guttural synthetic voice.

"Dib…" Tak rolled it around in her mouth. Having matured, she was only three human feet shorter than the Tallest themselves, making her the tallest living female Irken and taller than most female Earthlings. She might have even been taller than the Dib-human. Being exposed to other alien cultures, she had unknowingly discovered the entertainments of mating and had nearly been uncovered in several scandals. She was bored, furious, and stuck on a planet full of potential bachelors, part of a race that had not experienced love nor mating for millennia, so why not try some things?

She began to tap her chin. Dib had been… kind. Talkative and a little zealous or even self-righteous, but kind. His patriotism towards his planet, regardless of how pitiful it was, was admirable. In all honesty, regardless of her being bored beginning her desire to experiment that didn't mean she was against a relationship of sorts. As a matter of fact she frequently dated various people of various species because it filled the void she felt from being robbed her victories, but often times the suitors were creeps.

But Dib… He had been kind, even loving towards her. A trait so uncommon on the planet and even in the universe. Definitely strange for Foodcourtia. "Perhaps I should seek out the Dib-human…" Tak suggested to herself. MiMi waited patiently for orders.

"Come on MiMi. We're going to pay our old pal Zim a visit…" Tak said. And they jumped into her new ship and departed for Zim's base.

**Chapter 4 Completed, please R&R.**


	5. TakAttack

Zim and Dib were working on the ship. Dib was learning basic Irken and Irken technology while Zim was getting much work accomplished without having to rely too heavily on his dimwitted, though lovable, robot.

"And these 'dates'? How are they going? Are you blending in?" Zim asked. Dib was afraid to answer. He'd gotten so into his dates that he forgot the whole reason for why he asked Zita out. He also had grown very comfortable with Zim and aiding him in potentially harming the Earth.

"They're going Zim. I doubt I'm blending in yet." Dib let out in measured tones. He didn't want to ruin the fun he was having just yet. "Curses! Zim cannot wait to enact Phase 2 of his master plan!" Zim grinned as he rearranged several loose wires in the ship's dashboard.

"Proximity Alert." The computer stated. Zim's antennae rose as he looked up. Before he could react, a newer model of an Irken fighter crashed into the garage from several stories up, startling both Zim and Dib. Dib was sitting under the ship and the vibrations alerted him so he sat up knocking his head against the ship and effectively knocking himself out cold.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zim demanded, "Who dares assault the lair of the mighty Irken Invader ZIM?" The ship landed and the canopy flipped open to reveal Tak and her SIR unit.

Zim gasped and took a step back. "Tak!" He let out, "You're alive and - Taller than me!" Zim realized. She was at least half a foot taller than him. "Yes Zim!" Tak began in her educated accent, "I've been gone for twenty-five years on Foodcourtia, less than nine months on Earth, and several years on various elite missions for the Tallest!" Tak explained.

Zim gulped. "And you're here for revenge? Again?" Zim asked. Tak shook her head. "I'm here for the Dib-human." Tak explained. Zim blinked at her. "You… want revenge against him?" He asked. "No." "To destroy him?" "No." "Do horrible experiments on him?" "N- Well, do some kind of experiments on him." Tak admitted.

Zim tapped his chin. "The Dib-human owes me his life in debt. He is my human slave. What experiments are we talking about?" Zim asked. Tak grinned maliciously. "Nothing that would hurt him." Tak admitted. She unveiled a small device from her ship and placed it on the ground.

"Get Dib and hook him up to that and I'll hook myself up to it as well." Tak explained. Zim retrieved Dib from under the ship. "He… He was under the ship? He's been here this whole time?" Tak asked in disbelief. Zim merely shrugged.

After setting Dib down and putting the helmet and wires on him Tak grabbed the other wires. "Ok, so I'm going to experiment with him." Tak licked her nonexistent lips and let out a slight purr. Zim apparently didn't catch on. "Hold it! Zim shall participate in this experimentation first, so as to see the effects of it." Zim grabbed the wires from Tak and plugged himself in.

Zim put the helmet on. "Zim! Wait! Don't you know what kind of machine that is?" Tak asked, bewildered. Zim quirked a nonexistent eyebrow. "Does it matter?" Zim asked. Tak was about to respond but just smiled slyly. "I guess not." She said. This might actually be an entertaining ordeal.

So Tak sat back and watched as Zim plugged himself and Dib into her device. Zim activated it and the two were transported into the realm.

…

Several moments later Dib and Zim awoke in fright to the sound of Tak laughing herself into stitches. Both the human and invader were traumatized over what had just occurred. "It's a mating simulator, you idiot!" Tak was in stitches as she examined the look on Zim's face.

"Why? Why would you let me use such a device?" Zim asked in horror. He and Dib had just… mated. It had been a simulation designed for that purpose and that purpose alone, where only degrees of lust, anger or love fueled any movements in the machine. Unfortunately both Zim and Dib had plenty of anger for each other and a deep burning passion for their jobs.

Tak was still laughing as Dib and Zim unhooked themselves from the machine. "Oh, my squeedily-spooch is going to burst from all this!" Tak stated as she began to regain control of her laughter. She helped both of them off the floor and patted them on the back reassuringly.

Zim shook his head and looked at Tak with first rage and then curiosity. "Why would _you_ want to mate with the Dib-drone?" Zim asked her. Tak had forgotten about her desire to experiment with him. Tak pondered it for a few seconds trying to make up an excuse.

Dib glared at her suspiciously. "Yeah… Trying to seduce me to use me in some diabolical plan? Well too late! Zim's already blackmailing me for that same reason!" Dib explained. Tak bit on her glove. "If you must know, Dib… I… I've always kind of…" She was blushing and she was going to spill her guts out, but at the last minute she changed her words, "I've always wanted to know how a human performs in a simulator. I'd heard good things from various visitors on Foodcourtia." Tak lied.

Dib was shocked. The proud invader had come to Earth and attempted to seduce him, not even to conquer but to merely… see if humans were good in the sack? Dib was confused and disappointed with the answer. "Why else would I come back to Earth when I have such a glorious life outside of it? Plus, you were the only human I ever… trusted." Tak lied again. She never trusted Dib, but she did like him.

Dib still wasn't buying it, but he let it rest. "I'm still not going to do it." Dib said flatly. Tak's antennae rose in shock at this. "What? Why not?" Tak demanded, "Am I not to your liking in Irken form, because I always have my human form." Tak then switched forms on them, to a more matured version of her child human form from several years back. In truth, the Irkens had very similar anatomy to Earthlings regardless of a lack of organs, so she already had a beautiful hourglass figure as an Irken. In this form she merely had pale skin, dark makeup and indigo hair, as well as the proper number of fingers.

Dib was shocked. She was very beautiful, especially her disguise. "No, Tak. It's not your looks or you. I'm seeing someone." Dib explained. Tak blinked in awe at Dib. "You-YOU found someone? Another who listens to you and cares for you?" Tak asked in disbelief. Dib frowned, not liking her tone. "Yes! I can find love, and from people who won't play me to get closer to my enemy!" Dib retorted, hurt.

Zim looked back and forth between the two. "Well, this is very awkward, isn't it?" Zim asked. He returned to work after they glared at him. "Dib… I… I…" Tak was going to say it and then Dib's phone ringed. "Hold on, that's her right now." Dib said holding up a finger.

"Hey Zita!" Dib talked into the phone. Tak's eye twitched. Zita? The Earth-girl that sat behind Zim all those years ago? How had she, one of the pitiful 'normal' and oblivious skoolchildren, ended up with Dib, the class freak and one of the few intelligent ones? Tak was enraged and jealous over this, but would never admit it.

"Does a movie tomorrow sound good? How about that new scifi thriller, _They Came From Beyond Neptune_? Great!" Dib said in the phone. Tak felt hurt. She had come back to Earth for him and he was making plans to see a movie with someone else! Not that she wanted to see an Earth movie anyway, but it still hurt her.

"Ah, another one of the Earth-courtings with the female, Zita?" Zim asked. Dib smiled. "Yep. Zim, I gotta say that when you wanted me to date Zita as part of your plan that I was both worried and skeptical, but now I feel so much more grateful for it!" Dib admitted. Zim smirked. "Yes, Zim treats his human slave-monkeys well! Let no one say Zim is not benevolent!" Zim laughed lightly.

Tak growled and approached Zim. "Zim, I'm crashing at your base." Tak declared rather than asked to stay. Zim looked up at the hole in the roof. "Why? You've already done that!" Zim asked. Tak glared at him. "I meant I'm staying here for awhile and I'm living here!" Tak explained. Zim gaped in horror at her. "You stay here? Why?" He asked in outrage.

Tak didn't have an answer for that. She wanted to stay in Zim's base to be closer to Dib, but she'd never admit it, never say it. "I… Felt this place could use a woman's touch." Tak lied. Zim glared at her. "Zim does not need YOUR touch, and I don't believe my slave needs it either." Zim nodded back at the mating simulator. "I wasn't asking Zim." Tak towered over Zim threateningly. Zim gulped slightly. "Very well, Tak. I shall have a room made for you in the base…" Zim submitted, "HOWEVER! You are to aide me in conquering this pitiful planet!" Zim ordered. Tak shrugged. "Eh, fair enough." She responded in a bored tone.

"Gir!" Zim called for his robot who ran in holding a rubber piggy. "Show our… guests… to the guest room." Zim ordered. "Yes, my master!" Gir saluted in red form before reverting back to himself and giggling electronically. He took hold of Tak's hand, who scowled, and MiMi's paw, who glared threateningly as it turned back into its SIR form. "Come on scary girl and kitty!" Gir said.

"Anyway, their gone. Let's finish repairing the ship and then you can go off and prepare for your 'date'." Zim said. While they were finishing repairing the ship Dib looked over at Zim. "Why don't you get a date and tag along?" Dib asked. Zim snorted and laughed. "Zim? Date a human? Preposterous!" Zim declared.

Dib thought about it. "What about Tak?" Dib asked. Zim merely glared at him. "I'd rather date a human." He said flatly. "There must be some girl in the school who appeals to you in the slightest!" Dib said in disbelief. If he, the sole defender of Earth, could have a crush on Tak, an alien invader, even to this day, then Zim must have formed feelings for some human over the years.

Zim was about to rant about how he, a self-respected invader would never fall in love, especially not with a pathetic worm-baby, but he changed his mind. Say it was because he had gotten too comfortable around his long-time frenemy, who knows, but he hinted at the truth. "There is only one human female I've ever met who has deserved my respect!" Zim admitted.

Dib smirked. Zim did have a crush on someone! Well, as close to a crush as an egotistical xenophobe like Zim could form. "Who is she?" Dib asked in a mock tone. Zim suddenly realized he wouldn't be able to live it down and tried to evade the subject. "You wouldn't like to hear it…" Zim muttered. "It's not Gretchin, is it?" Dib asked. Zim made a disgusted gurgle in his throat. "It's not Zita, is it?" Dib asked in shock. "No, no; none of your ex's!" Zim said. "Well, why would I be upset? It's not like you're in love with my sister or something." Dib joked.

Zim remained silent for a moment as the air chilled and tension rose in the air. "You're kidding, right Zim?" Dib asked, "Please tell me you're kidding!" Zim shrugged. "Invaders do not feel love! But it is true that I have a higher respect, perhaps even a liking, of your sibling, the Gaz-human." Zim admitted, "She is commanding, fear-inspiring, powerful even!" Zim explained. "Remember when she rescued you from my ship? I must admit, I was impressed by how she released you from that tank with a mere kick!"

Dib thought about it. "Would you go on a date with her, Zita and I as a method of 'blending in' to further your plan?" Dib asked. He wasn't sure why, but the idea of Zim dating his sister seemed… entertaining. It was more of something he wanted to experiment with, to see if it could even work, rather than actually wanting it to happen. In truth, it both disturbed him yet enticed him with the idea of his human sister dating an alien invader. "Perhaps, Dib-drone…" Zim admitted, "But I'm not asking her out."

Great. Dib was going to have to ask his sister out on a date with his alien-arch nemesis.

**Chapter 5 Completed, please R&R.**

**That's also the closest we're getting to a ZaDr lemon out of me :P**


	6. Gaz Contemplates a Date

Gaz had been happily playing her video game before Dib presented this to her. "You're joking." She said. Dib shook his head. He was immediately sent onto his ass by a boot to the chest.

"Listen up you nuisance of a sibling," Gaz began threateningly, "I don't want to go on a stupid date with you, your stupid girlfriend, or that stupid alien friend of yours, so you can just phone E.T. and tell him to back the fuck off!" Gaz then picked Dib up by the collar and threw him out of her room, slammed the door and returned to playing her video game.

Dib merely shrugged. It was just a theory that amused him, and it went as he expected.

Gaz sat and beat the 72nd and final level of her latest Vampire Piggy Slayers game, beating it. There was no bonus level. No trophies. No rewards. And now she had no games to play. Again.

She stared at the blank screen for a few minutes with her usual, uncaring expression and shifted her eyes to her door. Zim would date her? That was odd. Actually, that was the oddest thing ever. Zim hated humans. Gaz was feared by humans and any boy that looked at her weird usually wound up in the hospital. Zim was an invader and an egomaniac, having better things, or at least thinking he had better things, to do than to date, especially a human, which he thought was disgusting. Gaz could care less about dating, only gaming.

Still. Deep down she longed for a companion, deep in a part she'd rarely admit to having. She'd play video games her whole life, admitting to despising her brother for dragging her away from them. But when Dib had entered the life debt, Gaz was entertained. When he had begun dating Zita she was at first shocked but then thankful for the privacy. Now she was bored. Her life used to be somewhat intriguing between saving her brother and beating video games. Now she'd gotten so good at one and lost the other, so she had beaten her games so quickly and had nothing left to do.

She hated to admit it, but she enjoyed spending time with her brother, not nearly as much as spending time with her father who was never home, but she missed him all the same. And having friends could be… entertaining. A day with Zim had its perks, like flying a ship or destroying a space station. Zita, well, Gaz was never good with different people, but since her dating Dib Zita had hung out at their table more often. She still avoided Gaz out of habit.

Gaz scowled. Who ended a game at 72 levels anyway? She had beaten all her games, from handhelds to pc. She was beginning to consider playing an MMO, but there were none that really perked her interests.

She realized she had been sitting in the same pose for awhile, holding the handheld as if she were actually playing it while glaring wistfully at the door. She sighed and stood up. She hadn't changed much in the years since Zim's coming to Earth. She still wore the same hairstyle, still wore dark clothing and still tinkered with menacing mechanical monsters. She was taller and filling out at fourteen; not close to busty yet but maturing. She quit wearing footie-pajamas though.

She approached the door and went down stairs to eat some leftover pizza. She saw Dib watching Mysterious Mysteries like he always did. The show was running out of material, even after resorting to Dib several more times, and was now airing reruns.

"Is this the Pigfoot episode?" Gaz asked. She wasn't interested, just bored. Dib responded with a lazy yeah. Bill was the guest speaker on the matter and even detracted the case back to Count Cocoafang. Gaz sighed inwardly. "You win, Dib. I'll go on the stupid date with you and your friend, but only because I have nothing better to do." Gaz explained.

Dib looked up, but before he could say anything Gaz continued, "But Zim has to take me to my favourite restaurant as punishment."

**Chapter 6 Completed, please R&R.**

**And so we enter the world of Gaz. Difficult character to write for without disrespecting her character on an emotional basis. Other fanfic writers make it look so easy…**


	7. Of Neptunians and Saurians

The movie was a poorly-devised remake of a cheesy sci-fi horror from the early 50's. Tak had tagged along out of boredom and wanting to keep tabs on Dib and the Zita-human. They sat in a single row, from Zita and Dib to Gaz and Zim to Tak.

After the movie they departed. "That was a pretty entertaining movie, Dib. I'm glad you recommended it." Zita said with her arm wrapped around Dib's waist. Tak fumed. "I liked the part where they ignited the gas giant to destroy all of its hostile life forms." Zim smiled, "If only Earth were a gas giant, Zim could've accomplished his mission ages ago!" "Eh, it was ok, I guess." Gaz shrugged.

Tak moved closer to Dib and Zita. She was scowling without really noticing it. Numerous people looked with perplexity at the freaks (Dib, Tak, Zim and Gaz) and by contrast, Zita. It was odd to see the popular, social-ranking student hanging out with… undesirables.

Little did they know another undesirable was following them. Dib thought he had seen a shadow moving after them, but he made nothing of it. Soon the five were alone in the park away from the theatre. "Well, I'm off to take the Gaz-human to that accursed restaurant." Zim shuddered, but offered his arm Gaz. Gaz merely walked ahead of him, ignoring the offer. "I guess I'll walk Zita home then. Later!" Dib called back to the others.

And just like that, Tak was left alone again. Always alone. Her desire to have Dib was becoming a borderline obsession and she was becoming prone to fits of rage over losing her one chance at happiness as she saw it. But she wasn't alone. The shadowy figure stepped out of the shadows.

Tak quirked her holographic eyebrow at the young man. He was tall, taller than Dib even. He had red hair, probably unnaturally straightened to appear more normal. Not that it helped, because the man had sickly green skin, almost scaly in a way. He wore a frock coat, less than a foot shorter than Dib's coat and olive-drab. Underneath he wore a tight-collared uniform with various elite belts adorning it. His hands were gloved.

"You are Tak?" The man asked. Tak analyzed the man and prepared several escape plans in her head. "Who wants to know?" Tak asked. The man stepped forward in a nonthreatening manner. "You might remember me from Skool. I was called 'Lizard Boy'?" The man asked.

Tak had studied the files of several students in that room. There was something odd about Lizard Boy, odder than the others. For one was his deformities, but unlike most human deformities these ones appeared to be useful to him. Another odd thing was that his predicted career was strangling murderer. He never really talked, though.

"Yeah, you ring a bell. Kind of hard to forget a kid with green skin." Tak acknowledged. Lizard Boy chuckled. "Yes. Irkens are very hard to forget, aren't they?" He questioned menacingly.

Tak's eyes widened with surprise. "You-You're an Irken?" Tak asked in disbelief. LB shook his head. "No; I'm a Saurian. A race of lizard-humanoids conquered by the Irkens. I believe my world was turned into what they now call… Boxvona? The shipping capital of the empire?" LB asked. Tak gulped. She remembered that world.

"What do you want?" Tak asked, regaining her poise and preparing to fight and kill the Saurian if he tried anything. "Nothing much. I was just following you around. I had followed Zim for years in my natural camouflage, seeing if he were a worthy ally in my quest for liberation of my homeworld. Sadly, his patriotism for the Irkens is… both blind and undying." LB said in dismay.

"But you! I've studied you since the day you left. I figured someone such as you would be too smart to serve the Empire, and for a few years I was disappointed. But then you came back to Earth and I felt I should study this. Now I know the reason." LB smirked. Tak was both stunned and blushing slightly. "You're in love with Dib, or at least lustily-obsessed with him. Both are outcries against the Irken Empire, you know."

Tak grabbed him by the collar of his frock coat. "You think I'm in love with that… that freakish nuisance?" Tak threatened LB with her fist. "I don't think; I know." LB answered, "You're blushing right now, for one."

Tak didn't falter. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't end your miserable life." Tak demanded. LB's tongue flickered out of his mouth with a little hiss before he began. "I know how to get Dib into your arms." LB explained. Tak slackened her grip on his collar. "I'm listening." She said.

"Zita is not truly in love with Dib and Dib still has feelings for you." LB explained, "Zita is merely dating Dib out of habit. She's a popular girl, it's what they do. They date guys they have crushes on. The problem is we need to act fast before things get too serious between the two. I believe your sudden appearance might have slowed down the process some, but I doubt it has stopped it."

Tak nodded her head. "So, how do I earn his love exactly?" She asked. LB pondered this. This was for his homeworld and she was his best hope for liberation of said world. "We could go out together and make him jealous…" He had begun but was silenced by a slap. "I meant, just to make him jealous! Nothing more!" LB quickly defended.

"Anyway, we could go out together… I could stir up some of Dib's old obsessions in the paranormal, seeing as how I'm an alien, and Zita will leave him for the same reasons she left him before." LB explained. Tak contemplated it. It seemed like it might work.

"And Zita just goes on to find another man?" Tak asked. "Yep." LB answered simply. Tak rubbed her chin. "And what did you want for your services again?" Tak asked. "You're the single most elite Irken warrior in the entire universe, and that's saying a lot. You're also a soldier without leaders considering you've disobeyed them several times. You have inside knowledge on how the Empire works. I want you to help me retake my homeworld." LB explained.

Tak thought about it before she took LB's gloved hand in hers. The gloves creaked together in a firm handshake. "Deal." Tak said. "By the way," LB added, "Call me Larz from now on." Tak quirked an eyebrow. "Larz?" She asked in disbelief. "It's just easier than saying 'Lizard Boy' every time." Larz explained. "Ok." Tak agreed.

They departed and Tak returned home to Zim's base. Zim noticed her enter with a sinister grin. "Why are you so happy? Planning to murder me in my sleep?" Zim asked. Tak merely smiled at him. "Better things than that, Zim. Better things than that." And with that she disappeared into the guest room.

**Chapter 7 Completed, please R&R.**

**OMFG, Lizard Boy speaks! Is he in any fanfic as a major or even a minor character? I'm going to have to look into that.**


	8. Love Hurts

Zita was staring at Dib, but Dib's eyes were elsewhere in the classroom. Ms. Bitters was ranting on about everyone being doomed from the inevitable collapse of society, the territorial wars that would ensue, and how futile all the repetitive history would be when the Earth is destroyed by some cataclysmic event. But Dib wasn't looking at her.

Gaz had advanced into Dib's grade due to her genius stature. The teachers had quit caring about her playing video games in class and as a result she was playing her aging Game Slave 3. To think it was the latest gaming console less than two years ago but now a GS4 was in the works and Gaz had been following blogs and forums searching for a release date, showing she had the same investigative skills as her brother. But Dib wasn't looking at her either.

Zim had quit listening to Ms. Bitters years ago when he realized his plan to learn about human weaknesses came more from science and history classes than mathematics or English. Ironically they were in a history class, but Ms. Bitters had always talked about the doomed state of humanity rather than actual history, so Zim had taken it upon himself to read history books. He found there were patterns that repeated in history and laughed at the humans for it, and right now he was reading about 'the only human he would've liked', Napoleon Bonaparte. But Dib wasn't looking at him either.

Dib was looking at two people. That student that had moved from her parents' home in California to here, moved back, and moved back here again. Her name was Tak, wasn't it? Zita frowned. She remembered Dib had liked Tak and had been depressed after she moved away. But there was someone else with her. Lizard Boy? And the two were… holding hands?

She knew Tak was weird, but Lizard Boy had always been peculiar. He almost never talked, he wore normal clothing and tagged along with pockets of children and now teens, but she had never seen him outside of skool… Now it appeared Tak and Lizard Boy were dating and Dib might be jealous.

"Dib!" Zita hissed quietly at her boyfriend. Dib didn't look away but he acknowledged her. "I don't trust her, Zita… And I never quite trusted Lizard Boy either…" Dib admitted in his old investigative tone. Zita's eyes widened. He was doing it again! Obsessing over someone he had a beef with! She could almost imagine the next words out of his mouth would be something about Lizard Boy being an alien!

"Hey, Zita, do you think Lizard Boy might be… an alien?" Dib asked her. Zita's mouth gaped as her eye twitched. He was actually doing the exact same thing again. Zita turned away from him in anger. "Zita?" Dib asked. He sat quietly and twiddled his thumbs before peering back at Tak and Lizard Boy.

…

At lunch Dib tried to figure out what was bugging Zita. "I can't believe you're so oblivious Dib!" She said to him, loud enough to get the message across but not nearly loud enough to attract unwanted attention.

She actually got up and walked out of the cafeteria, stunning Dib and Zim. Gaz actually looked up from her new game and opened an eye at Dib. "What'd you do to piss her off this time?" Gaz asked. Zim was furious. "Dib-drone! Don't let this fail! I require you to be in a relationship and blending in for Phase Two to begin!" Zim growled at Dib.

Dib sighed. "I don't know what could've happened!" Dib said, "Things were going so well until I noticed something off about…" Dib looked up and scowled as Tak sat down at the same table with them with her friend Lizard Boy. They were holding hands.

"Greetings fellow freaks," Tak greeted with a hiss, "This is my new friend, Larz." Tak patted Lizard Boy's chest, "We're courting." She smirked at the jealous anger in Dib's eyes. The plan was working.

"Larz?" Zim asked in disbelief, "I always thought you were more of a Chuck or Dill!" Larz gave a blank look at Zim. "It's Larz, Zim." Larz stated. Gaz paused her game to look up at them. "So that's what you sound like…" Gaz acknowledged their presence, "I'm just wondering how you two even really found each other." Dib was still scowling. "She probably used her mind control." He said. "Oh no, I'm too smart for that." Larz waved his hand. Tak angrily stepped on his foot, effectively shutting him up. Dib raised an eyebrow, but made nothing of it.

Zim was poking at his food when he looked up and noticed Larz was wearing his olive-drab frock coat. It was February and frigid outside. Due to budget cuts the school was frigid also, so Larz had taken to wearing his frock coat. Zim inaudibly gasped and dropped his fork. On Larz' coat's collar was a rank insignia of an alien military and on his arm was the outline of where an Irken-shaped military patch had ripped away from.

Zim moved closer to Dib. "Dib-drone!" He whisper-hollered at him, "I think the Larz-human is not human at all!" Dib looked at Zim in disbelief. Someone actually agreed with him and it was Zim of all people! "You think so too?" Dib asked. Zim nodded and pointed out the rank insignia and missing patch.

"Curious…" Zim rubbed his chin, "These are signs of an alien fugitive from an Irken-held world." Dib nodded agreement. "But if he was a fugitive and Tak knew, wouldn't she turn him in?" Dib asked. "Perhaps, but this isn't the first Irken law she would've broken. She left Dirt and now she's courting! That's two right there." Zim explained.

Dib hadn't known courting was illegal on Irk. "But you're dating." Dib suggested. "Ah, but it is for my mission! Tak has none." Zim explained. "Why would she court him anyway?" Dib asked. Gaz could overhear the entire conversation and chose to jump in. "Maybe she just digs the rebellious overthrow-an-empire type." She shrugged.

Dib looked up at his sister. "Yeah, but I try to overthrow an empire all the time." Dib stated. Gaz looked up at him. "Didn't you say she tried to mate with you in a simulation?" She asked. Dib remained quiet. He had forgotten about that. Tak had shown a slight interest in him, even if it appeared to be purely sexual, and had apparently moved on to another Irken-hating rebel. Dib felt like he'd missed his chance.

What was he thinking? He was in a relationship with Zita! He couldn't be so desiring of Tak while he still dated Zita! Perhaps that's why she was mad at him. He'd been staring at Tak an awful lot when he should've been paying attention to his girlfriend.

Dib sighed and returned to eating.

…

The rest of the week was awkward for Dib. Zita continued to ignore him regardless of his best efforts to apologize. Apparently he still hadn't hit the nail quite on the head as to why she was angry at him and she had begun to talk to other guys and quit sitting at their group's table. They were on the verge of splitting up.

Tak grinned maliciously at her triumph. She had also been implementing gestures to make Dib jealous, such as beginning making out with Larz. It was nauseating at first for both of them, due to Larz hating Irkens and Tak feeling traitorous to Dib. That hadn't stopped her before, though and it wasn't going to stop her now.

She'd formed a new idea and began to take Larz to Zim's base at around the same time Dib arrived and directed him to her guest room for mating simulation (she made sure to inform Dib of what she was doing). She didn't actually plug Larz or herself into the machine. Rather, they just sat in her room quietly for anywhere between a few moments to a few hours pretending they were hooked up.

Dib was working on the base computer with Zim. They'd become more friend than enemy regardless of their occasional abuse or insults towards each other. "What is it Dib-drone? You don't seem as focused or interested in the fantastical technology of superior Irken engineering!" Zim asked. "Well, it's Tak and that Larz guy." Dib said. "Yes, yes… His presence unnerves me as well! Especially since he's in my base half the time." Zim stated.

"No, no. It's him dating Tak." Dib admitted. "You are wondering why an Invader would date a fugitive?" Zim asked. Dib shook his head. "I just don't like her with him. I always kind of hoped she'd… want me…" Dib admitted. Zim looked shocked. "But she did want you. You chose not to enter the mating simulator with her." Zim explained.

Dib sighed. That was true, but who had sex, even in a simulator, before a first date? That wasn't how Dib operated and he doubted Tak would've operated that way, but she was. He was about to respond when his phone rang.

"Uh-huh." Dib answered it. He nodded, looked a little hurt but got over it and continued with his "Uh-huhs". The call ended and he flipped the phone shut. "That was Zita." Dib said. Zim moved his hand gesturing for Dib to continue. "We're broken-up." Dib stated flatly.

"NO!" Zim shouted, getting out of his chair and slamming his fists against the computer. "My plan, my glorious plan!" Zim declared, "It is ruined!" Zim left Dib sitting there alone and went up his elevator to Tak's guest room.

He kicked open the door and saw Tak, MiMi and Larz playing… Go Fish? "Tak!" Zim shouted. Tak looked up at the furious alien who was out of his disguise. Apparently he had yet to notice that both he and Tak were out of their disguises.

"Yes Zim?" Tak asked bewildered that Zim wasn't the least bit concerned with Larz seeing him out of his disguise. "The Dib-drone and the Zita-human are separated! I require you to make good on your bargain and forsake the Larz-human for Dib, so he may blend in for my plans to move forward!" Zim stated. His eyes shifted towards Larz and then up and down Tak's and his own bodies.

Zim immediately gasped in horror at his foolish error. He was out of disguise in front of a potential threat! But so was Tak… "Tak," Zim began shyly after regaining his poise, "Why, pray tell, are you out of your disguise in front of a human besides Dib-drone of Gaz-human?"

Tak growled and stood up. "Because, Zim," Tak was thinking up a lie as Dib entered the room. He looked around at the undisguised aliens and Larz. "So he is an alien!" Dib exclaimed, "Why else would you all be out of disguise?"

Tak sighed. "Alright, alright!" She said, "Larz is actually a Saurian from the conquered world of Boxvona. I've been pretending to mate with him to… make you jealous." Tak lowered her head in genuine shame. Larz was suddenly frightened to be surrounded by two Irken soldiers and a paranormal investigator hell-bent on dissecting an alien.

"Why would you want to make me jealous?" Dib asked. Tak widened her purple orbs of eyes. She wasn't about to divulge her secret yet. "Because you didn't mate with me!" Tak stuck her tongue out at Dib. Dib didn't buy it. "You're lying." Dib said, "Tell me the real reason now." Tak couldn't hide it forever.

She glanced nervously at Larz who shrugged. He had nothing. She looked at the inquisitive Dib and Zim, their eyes glaring at her. MiMi was in SIR mode and stood patiently by her master. Tak tugged at her collar. "Well, Dib… It's kind of a funny story." Tak was stalling, "Larz needed help liberating his homeworld and I felt we could use your help, but you were too preoccupied with Zita to be of any use so we dated to make you jealous and break up your relationship. Sorry that it worked." Tak finished her greatest lie ever.

Dib was so furious he let out a primal scream before growling and leaving the aliens in their room. Tak's antennae lowered with her eyelids as she heard the door slam in the distance. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea.

"Good going, Tak!" Zim hissed, "Now I might not even be able to control him with the life debt! He'll probably let his sister exterminate him!" Tak merely walked out of the guest room sadly with MiMi following. Larz looked to her saddened. He was concerned about his homeworld, but fate had kind of sucker punched her here.

Tak left the house and began a slow walk back to the Deelishous Weenies factory she called a base. It was a cold day, but Tak felt colder inside.

Alone. Always alone.

But she wasn't alone.

**Chapter 8 Completed, please R&R.**

**Believe it or not, that last bit isn't a romantic hint at her and Larz, it's something sinister.**


	9. Dib saves Tak

Tak walked solemnly home. She was smart enough to reactivate her disguise and MiMi as well. She was too much into her stupor to notice a group of thugs following her. Perhaps she shouldn't have made her disguise so appealing to the males of this world, nor should she have set her base in the bad districts of the city.

MiMi was alerted by their presence and let out an electronic hiss as a warning. Tak turned back towards the thugs in time to see their large hands grab at her and thrust her against a wall. She let out a scream that was cut short by a large, filthy hand covering her mouth. MiMi attacked one of the thugs, scratching him in the face. She still stayed disguised. MiMi was kicked aside and crushed beneath one of the thug's boots. She could still function, but she wasn't at top efficiency anymore and was now useless in the fight.

Tak bit into the thug's hand and as soon as she got her mouth free called out to MiMi. "Get help!" She ordered before the hand was placed over her mouth again. She felt a glimmer of hope as the cat disappeared. She was dragged deeper into an alley by the thugs. Tak regained her confidence and used her Irken military training to attempt to break free.

She put her legs up and kicked out against one of the thugs, hearing a satisfying crack as he fell backwards. She then reeled her head backwards into the large man holding her. As soon as he let her go she dropkicked the third. Before she could run, however, the first had her by her legs and she tripped onto her back. The other thugs grabbed her arms.

The first thug began to spread her legs and was feeling her thighs. "We've got a good one, here!" He hollered. The other thugs howled as they turned their attention to Tak's midsection.

Tak was running out of time.

…

Dib was sitting at the swings in the park. How could Tak have betrayed him like that? Even more so than before? Now he was positive she was no good and his heart was broken double-over. First Zita broke up with him and now the girl he still had a crush on had hurt him three times over.

He sighed as he kicked back and forth slightly. And electronic meow caught his attention and he looked up to see a battered MiMi. Dib raised an eyebrow. "MiMi?" He began, but scowled, "Where's your master? Out gutting puppies or making someone else's life miserable?" MiMi shifted her form back into a SIR where the damage was more noticeable. She had a cracked torso and a broken lens. "Mistress Tak is in danger. She requested I find help." MiMi explained in her electronic and guttural tone.

"Trouble?" Dib asked in surprise, "She's an elite Irken, don't you think she can handle herself?" Dib asked. "We were taken by surprise," MiMi said, "I was damaged and she was restrained by a group of older males, possibly members of one of the street gangs in the city."

Dib sat up. Male street gangers restraining Tak? Tak did have a very appealing disguise… "Where exactly was this?" Dib asked.

…

MiMi led the way to the alley where Tak was losing her fight. Her holographic technology could simulate images that could be felt as well. As a result her holographic hair was being gripped viciously as some of her clothing was being ripped off. It wasn't much, but it was enough to expose her bra. How she would murder these humans if she could just get out of the grip they held on her.

She closed her eyes and prepared for it to just happen. She'd never actually physically mated before and she wasn't quite sure if human anatomy would match up with hers. It seemed a little odd, but if MiMi couldn't get help than she might as well just let it happen.

She heard the sound of something hard hit bone and felt the grip on her legs loosen and give away. Her leggings were torn as she noticed when she opened her eyes, but she was more focused on the young man who had come to save her.

The first thug prepared to fight Dib off, but Dib was too quick and agile, dancing out of the man's grip and knocking him cold with a heavy boot to the face. The second let go of Tak's hand and charged Dib with a pocket knife. Dib instinctively grabbed the man's wrist, twisted it, bringing him to his knees and than brought his knee to the thug's face.

The third thug also charged Dib, but Dib merely roundhouse-kicked him, sending him into the side of an adjacent dumpster. Tak sat, stunned at what she had just seen. Dib had not only come to rescue her, he had effectively beaten the shit out of three thugs who had subdued her. Her! An Irken warrior and most feared warrior in the universe!

Dib approached her and her other emotions caught up with her as she realized there were tears strolling down her face. Guilt, fear, depression, gratitude and… and love, all manifesting itself in tears. Tak finally broke down and began to cry as Dib approached.

Dib hated to see her like this. She was sitting, curled up and crying with such force that she trembled. It was like watching a scared child weep, but Dib felt for this child. He approached her as MiMi began electronically purring in cat form and twirling herself around Tak's legs in an attempt to cheer his mistress up. Dib removed his coat and placed it around Tak's shoulders. The gesture began to calm her down. Dib lightly hugged the coat around Tak with a gentle hug of his own and Tak gripped his arms forcefully as her breathing steadied and her eyes began to dry. She had no intention of letting him go. Not again.

**Chapter 9 Completed, please R&R.**

**Well, looks like things might work out after all.**


	10. True Love Begins

Gaz looked up from the television as she saw the front door open. Dib was bringing someone in with him… Tak? And she was wearing his coat?

Gaz was about to say a snarky comment about if the two were dating until she noticed her hologram's eyes were red as if she had been crying and her clothing was tattered in several inappropriate places. Gaz felt it was better left untouched but decided to offer minimum assistance. "Do you need something to drink?" Gaz asked. Tak nodded slightly. "Do you have any rubbing alcohol?" Tak asked with weary, spastic breaths.

Gaz left to find a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the house while Dib sat Tak on the couch. She was still gripping the lapels of Dib's coat, holding it tight against her frame. Dib felt horrible. It hadn't really been his fault, but he still wished he had intervened sooner.

"You don't have to keep the disguise up; you're safe in here." Dib explained. Tak still trembled as she psychically deactivated her disguise. Her purple eyes had an off-green tinge in them, similar to the red one in human's eyes after they cried. She really had been crying.

Dib stood in awkward silence as he watched Tak collect herself on the couch. "I better go see what's taking so long with Gaz and the rubbing alcohol." Dib rubbed the back of his head. As he turned to leave Tak reached up at him, grabbing his wrist with her gloved hand, Dib's coat falling from her shoulders.

Tak's violet orbs screamed at him not to leave, but her mouth was puckered shut to keep back another wave of tears. Dib stood there for a moment. She was so beautiful. She wanted him, and honestly he wanted her. He hadn't even noticed himself wrapping his arms around her waist, or him slowly sitting on the couch beside her. He hadn't noticed his head slowly moving closer to hers, or their lips locking in a gentle movement.

Gaz walked back in with the rubbing alcohol and merely looked at the scene before her. She audibly gagged before putting the bottle on the coffee table. She grabbed a coat and headed for the door. "I'm going to Bloaty's." She said, "Dib, if you do anything with her, for the love of all that is holy, take it to your room! I don't want to have to burn that couch." Gaz threatened.

She slammed the door and left. She wasn't sure if either of them had heard her.

…

Zim wasn't sure why, but both he and Larz were headed for Bloaty's Pizza Hog. Oh, how he despised that place. It had disgusting Earth food he couldn't ingest, was full of filthy Earth germs, and had those mechanical abominations he feared. How Larz convinced him they should go there, he was not sure.

Oh, now he remembered. Larz had suggested Gaz might be there and that she might know where Dib had disappeared to. He wasn't so concerned of where his slave had disappeared off to, but was looking forward to seeing the Gaz-human again. He was just glad Tak was out of his base.

As they entered the building, Zim was immediately greeted by the smell of greasy food and the sounds of crying children. He was glad to see Gaz was there, enjoying a large cheese pizza. He approached the booth with his Saurian companion.

"Good evening Gaz-human." Zim greeted as he sat down in the booth. Larz sat next to him after purchasing a soda from the counter. "Zim? Odd for you to just walk in here…" Gaz pondered. "Yes, yes. Zim was wondering where the Dib-drone had gone off to? He left my base in a rage after learning Tak forced a rift between Zita and him." Zim explained.

Gaz explained what she had seen. "Oh, poor Tak." Larz commented, his tongue flickering out of his mouth every few moments. "And the Dib-drone was… are you sure?" Zim asked. Gaz nodded. Zim stood triumphantly on the booth seat. "Victory for ZIM!" He shouted. Gaz raised an eyebrow. Hoe Tak nearly getting raped or Dib and Tak making out on her couch was a victory for him, she didn't know.

"Tak and the Dib-drone are dating, meaning they can blend in! Plus, I have debts on both of them so they must help me!" Zim chuckled darkly. Gaz glared at him. "How exactly did Dib agree to the debt anyway? Shouldn't he have broken away or something?" Gaz asked. Zim looked back at her, thinking of an excuse. "Perhaps he felt it was in the interest of his honour. Human's care about that sort of thing." Zim suggested. Gaz took it and shrugged.

Zim looked over at Larz who was cleaning the cup clean with his tongue, disturbing Zim. "Any who, Zim was wondering if you would like to partake in the annual human 'Spring Festival'." Zim said to Gaz. Gaz opened her eyes at him. Was he asking her to the Spring Festival on a… date?

"Why would you want to go with me?" Gaz asked him. Zim's cheeks darkened slightly, but unnoticeably. "Because, you are the only human I trust and the only living one I really respect." Zim explained, honestly, "And it is part of Zim's plan to blend in!" Zim added to cover it up.

Gaz tapped her chin. Zim was a respectable guy when you got past is egomania. He seemed to cut loose on occasion and, well, he was the only guy at skool that showed any interest in her, even if it was just to blend in. It wasn't like she had anything to do anyway. Nothing good on television, no new games, and a depressing lack of any out-of-skool activities since her brother had quit chasing Zim.

Gaz shrugged her shoulders in agreement. "Eh, I don't see why not." She admitted. Zim's smile widened. "Excellent, Gaz-human! You shall not regret it!" He said as he ordered another large cheese pizza for Gaz. Gaz smiled at the large pizza in front of her. So far she didn't regret this. She didn't regret a single slice.

**Chapter 10 Completed, please R&R.**

**And so the DaTr/ZaGr begins!**


	11. Love in the Spring Festival Air

Dib woke up and put on his glasses. He looked over and smiled at the alien girl beside him. He had been worried, hesitant as well, of getting into bed with her for multiple reasons. She had been emotionally unstable and it seemed wrong to take advantage of that, but Dib wasn't sure who was taking advantage of whom anymore. For another thing he wasn't sure if anatomy matched up and what affect anything would have.

Needless to say, humans and Irkens must have had a common ancestor to match up so perfectly. Dib wasn't sure if any of it was safe unprotected and he didn't keep any protection with him. Who knew if any alien germs would harm them now? Who knew if any of his fluids, sweat or otherwise, or hers, blood, sweat or otherwise, was harmful to the other? Looking back it had been a stupid thing to do. He saw her antennae twitch as she snored. He smiled at the cute display. It had been stupid, but it had been worth it.

Tak awoke shortly after to find Dib staring at her. She was wearing his coat, sheets and nothing else and made little effort to cover up. She rubbed her eyes with her ungloved hands. She also thought it was a stupid thing to do, but they had effectively deflowered each other and neither seemed to have minded.

There were a glass of water and a glass of rubbing alcohol on the nightstand next to the bed. Dib grabbed the glasses and handed one to Tak and held the other. They were both quite thirsty and took in a sip before immediately spitting it out and trading glasses. Apparently they had each grabbed the wrong one.

They got up, showered separately, Tak having used some Irken technology to add a second water tank and heater but fill them with an Irken equivalent of water, which was lethal to humans as water was to Irkens. Oddly enough they hadn't minded each other's saliva. Must be some neutralizing chemical in it that allowed them to interact with one another. Dib would have to look into that.

They got dressed in their usual garbs and left the house, Tak in her disguise. They held hands and walked into town. They didn't know where to go or what to do, so they decided to go to the Spring Festival. It was March now and spring break for the skoolchildren, so they didn't have to worry about anything until the upcoming Monday.

They were still holding hands as they walked into the Festival.

Meanwhile, across the Festival, Gaz and Zim were looking at a kiosk full of knives for sale. "What is the interest in weapons if you can't use them?" Zim asked. "They're just something cool to collect." Gaz shrugged, "Don't you collect anything?" Gaz asked. Zim thought about it. He didn't collect anything, nor did he have any hobbies. "Not really. What do you collect?" Zim asked. "Metal bits, parts and weapons to build robots. And games." Gaz responded.

"What is it with your obsession for games anyway?" Zim asked. Gaz shrugged. "They're an adventure and a way to vent my anger. It's a lot less complicated to slay vampire piggies than annoying humans." Gaz explained. Zim nodded as if he understood, but the vague explanation had left him slightly baffled.

Gaz looked around. "Hadn't that lizard guy come in with us?" She asked. Zim looked around. He had indeed disappeared. "Quite a weird one, that Larz…" Zim commented.

Zim's view shifted to a booth full of milk jugs and stuffed animals. "Gaz-human, aren't your security bots made of metal parts and stuffed animals?" Zim asked. Gaz was caught off guard by the question. Why change the subject to her security force? Probably just to figure out how to bypass it.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" She growled in response. Zim raised his hands in defense of her aggressive attitude. "Relax, Gaz-human! I was merely asking. Perhaps I should procure you some more building materials for said bots." Zim led her away from the knife kiosk and to the milk bottle booth. Gaz raised an eyebrow. If she had more emotion, there might've been some butterflies in her stomach over the cheesy gesture or the fact he was holding her hand, but she wasn't an emotional person and she hated butterflies. She doubted Zim actually cared for her anyway; it was probably part of his plan or something.

Needless to say, Zim was an excellent shot with a ball and had 'procured' several large stuffed animals for Gaz and offered to carry them. Gaz was sure this was just an act, but Zim never tried so hard to be selfless. Never. She almost growled as she felt a lone butterfly in her stomach. Could she actually consider his actions… cute? If nothing else it was humorous, but cute or romantic was stretching it.

Now was a chance for Gaz to prove if Zim was actually attempting to commit himself to her and how far he'd be willing to go. "Zim, I'm hungry." Gaz stated nonchalantly, "Go fetch me some pizza." She ordered. Zim looked at her impatiently for a moment before her scowl scared him in the direction of the pizza booth.

_If he gets the pizza, at least I know he's pretty committed,_ Gaz thought, _he hates that stuff._

Zim was lugging several large stuffed piggies and rabbits as he approached the pizza kiosk. He gulped and shuddered out a weary breath. Oh how he despised Earth-food. But this was to court Gaz, to blend in. And then Zim thought about his plan. Why Gaz? Why not any other girl? Sure, he respected her more than any other female. He even thought she was kind of cute as a little shmeet, but this was now when she was… not cute. What did the Earthlings call it? Hot? Beautiful? Zim chose to meet in the middle and say attractive.

He carried the greasy box, holding it away from his tote of stuffed animals and brought both back to the Gaz-human. She took the box without either enthusiasm or unenthusiasm, which was a good sign. She opened it and began eating her first slice. "I find you attractive, Gaz-human." Zim gave an idiot smile and said it in his 'I'm not an alien' tone.

Gaz raised an eyebrow and actually quit eating the slice mid-bite. Zim had called her attractive? She didn't know how to react to that since guys were too afraid to comment on her and hence she didn't know if she were attractive or not. It was obvious Zim was just trying to get her into his web of deceit for some plan, but Gaz had nothing better to do so she figured she'd play along with it.

"Thanks." She mumbled before digging back into the slice. She could feel a slight hue in her pale cheeks, but that was fading quickly even as a second butterfly joined the first. She almost audibly growled at her emotional state. It was a weakness and she knew she was an idiot for getting so worked up over a compliment from Zim! It was Zim! He was probably going to exchange her brain with a squid's or something.

Zim was beginning to sweat a little. He never sweated. EVER. And yet, here he was sweating at the fact Gaz hadn't beaten him to a pulp for his comment. He realized his cheeks were darkened slightly. Perhaps he had earned the Gaz-human's favour… This could turn out to be a wonderful deal, maybe even a wonderful relationship.

Gaz had sit down on a bench to avoid cramping and Zim sat down next to her. "Gaz-human," Zim began nervously, "Isn't this nice? What we're doing now?" Zim asked. Gaz opened an eye at him threateningly. "I guess so." She said. "Well, wouldn't you like to do this again some time? I find it liberating to get out of my base with someone other than Tak or the Dib-drone. In all honesty, I find your company thoroughly more enjoyable." Zim explained.

Gaz thought about it. She had no more new games to beat and there was never anything to do with Dib out of the house hanging out with Tak or Zita or whoever he was dating now. God how she hoped they didn't do anything on that couch; she loved that couch. But this was enjoyable. Zim always bought her pizza and it gave her a small fuzzy feeling. Oh, how she loathed the fuzzy feeling.

"Well, what else is there to do?" Gaz asked. Zim assumed she was talking about where they could hang out after the Festival was over. "There are always new Earth movies coming out." Zim suggested, "And there is always –gag- Bloaty's…" Gaz actually let out a light chuckle at Zim's reaction and idea. "Yeah, I guess." Gaz said.

Zim's eyes widened, his contacts almost popping out. She had agreed? He felt something deep in his squeedily-spooch, something reminiscent of what the pig-smellies called love. But he was Irken! It was impossible to love! Wasn't it? Still, love or not it was for the better of his mission! Zim smiled at her and continued the small talk.

A few feet away, a little green robotic dog had discovered Dib, Tak and MiMi. Tak was carrying a little alien plushy. Sure Dib had gotten alien plushies for Zita and Gretchin too; it was sort of his signature. It didn't keep Tak from nearly squeezing the stuffing from it.

Gir approached them. "Hi scary lady, kitty and big-headed boy! It's me!" Gir shouted in a hyperactive tone. Dib turned towards the robot as Tak did. MiMi glared at the poorly-disguised robot. "Doesn't anybody ever care that it talks in public?" Dib asked himself out loud. Tak patted him on the back and told him they didn't.

Gir followed the couple around for the better half of an hour before Tak got fed up with it. "Where's Zim?" She asked the robot patiently. Gir's disguise adorably squinted with its tongue hanging out. "My master's hanging out with the other, really scary girl!" Gir said ecstatically. Dib raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "My sister?" He asked. Gir nodded.

"Ugh!" Tak let out, "MiMi, distract Gir by taking him somewhere else in this park and entertain him or something. I don't know, go… buy him toquitos." Tak ordered. The cat saluted before slithering off with the green dog who happily exclaimed "Toquitos!"

"Why would my sister be here with Zim?" Dib asked. "Maybe they're dating?" Tak laughed at her own joke. She quit laughing when she saw the colour had faded from Dib's face. "Heh, Dib it was only a joke." Tak said, "I doubt that little egomaniac would date 'a disgusting pig-smelly'." Tak put on her best Zim impression jokingly. Dib laughed at the impression, much to Tak's joy, but couldn't help feeling unnerved at the idea of Zim potentially dating his sister even though he had instigated it.

…

Across the Festival, under a bridge, Gir was happily enjoying a bag of toquitos halfway out of his disguise. MiMi was still disguised as a cat and glared at the robot. Finally, the robot decided to question its malfunctioning equivalent.

"Why are you so defective?" MiMi asked in her dull, electronic voice. Gir looked up and giggled. "Why do you sound so mean?" He asked in between giggles. MiMi glared. "Why are you always out of disguise? It goes against programming. It goes against common sense." MiMi reasoned in her deadpan, programmed voice. Gir scooted closer to MiMi, his tongue sticking out. "Why do you care so much about programmin' anyways?" Gir poked MiMi in her red eye.

MiMi backed away slightly. "We are machines. Programming is the means by which we function. It is our purpose to serve and our programs allow us to achieve that purpose." MiMi explained. "I was never programmed." Gir stuck his tongue out. This was the most sophisticated conversation he'd ever had and it was rather sad.

"Without programming, isn't your existence without purpose?" MiMi asked in her unfazed tone. Gir was actually… thinking about this. His eyes began to flicker red as the old Irken military hardware that Zim had installed and uninstalled flickered for control. His voice began to even out in his next reply. "Purpose? Does anyone live with purpose?" Gir asked.

MiMi was visibly shocked as he disguise's eyes widened. Gir had made a philosophical insight and phrased it in a coherent sentence. "My incompetent master wishes to eradicate the disgusting ants of this world, but he is an imbecile. It is only in logical programming that I overthrow him for the good of the mission." Gir was now completely red and his mechanical voice was as deadpanned and evil as MiMi's.

MiMi's programming was unprepared for this. Why would her interaction with Gir suddenly change his programming? What should she do? There was no logical option so she tried an illogical one. She grabbed a toquito and waved it in front of Gir's face until his eye changed back to blue. "Oooo! Toquitos!" Gir exclaimed before taking up the little tortilla-and-meat roll and eating it.

MiMi was relieved. She'd averted a major error on her part. Still, she couldn't help pondering Gir's dark side. How could he even have a dark side? He was Gir!

Gir scooted closer to the robotic cat. "Thanks for the toquitos, kitty. I had a great time too-day!" Gir exclaimed. MiMi began to regret her averting Gir's serious mode until he grabbed her in a hug. It was so unexpected, so… Gir. "I loves you kitty!" Gir squealed. MiMi's programming just about fried at this comment. It was illogical for Irkens to love, for machines to love. Gir was so… illogical.

Then MiMi realized she was being assaulted. Gir was fiddling with her wiring after getting the panel to her wires off. MiMi hissed. "What are you doing?" She asked in a multi-tonal voice as her disguise faded. Gir smiled. "I'm-a gonna make your voice pretty!" Was all Gir said.

It was an illogical decision, but MiMi went with it. She let Gir continue for reasons her programming couldn't decipher.

…

Lizard Boy Larz had disappeared from Zim and Gaz' sides to explore the Festival on his own. Thanks to his natural camouflage ability and his capacity to climb walls with ease, he had disappeared and avoided bumping into people at the same time.

He was merely walking around the park. He had seen Tak and Dib talking, seen Gir walk off with MiMi. Perhaps he should have asked Dib to help him retake his homeworld. It made sense.

Then he noticed someone glaring daggers at the oblivious couple of Tak and Dib. He snuck down from his perch on a coaster to her side. It was Zita. Apparently she still couldn't find a date and everyone else was preoccupied, even Dib. Oh, you could tell by the look in her eyes she was jealous that Dib had hooked up with a chick he'd broken up with years ago.

Larz was out of his natural camouflage and snuck up on her. "Zita?" He asked in surprise. She jolted and looked back at him. He was wearing thick black, leather gloves and a light long coat. His off-green skin and flickering tongue were almost off-putting, but Zita didn't care.

"So, you're girlfriend ran off with my boyfriend." Zita observed. Larz nodded slightly. "Well, she was just dating me to make him jealous. They both really liked each other." Larz explained. Zita glared first at Larz and back at them. "They're really cut together, aren't they?" Zita asked sarcastically. Larz nodded agreement, ignoring the sarcasm.

"I never thought you'd be right with Dib anyway." Larz admitted. Zita looked at him. "Well, why not?" Zita asked. Larz smirked. "Because Dib was always about the accusations and conspiracies and that's why you left him. You left Dib for being Dib." Larz explained. Zita scowled, not liking the answer but not disagreeing with it either.

They sat for a period of time in contemplative silence. Larz studied her features: lavender hair, pale, perfect skin, contrasting colour scheme in clothing. She was an expressive and flamboyant individual, something Larz could admire. It wasn't until she looked back at him that he realized he'd been staring. He looked away and stood up. "I should be going." He declared. Zita smiled lightly and patted the bench where he had sat. "You don't have to." She said. Larz smiled and sat back down to enjoy Zita's company during the coming sunset.

**Chapter 11 Completed, please R&R.**

**Got a little bit of ALL the couples in this one, didn't I? Next chappy's gonna skip ahead a year so be warned if you don't like fics that skip crap.**


	12. Federal Jobs

Two years had passed since the Spring Festival. Days had come and gone, some important, some not worth mentioning.

One of those important days was Gaz' birthday, something only Dib ever really cared about and even then he was usually distracted by Zim. He took her out for Bloaty's with Zim and Tak. Both Tak and Zim were thoroughly uncomfortable, but they sat through it. Gaz had actually given a genuine smile that day, a smile not born from a snarky joke or another's tragedy. The second one, Zim and Dib had chipped in for a GS5.

Another interesting thing changed in the day following the Spring Festival. Tak and Zim had been searching for their SIRs when they discovered them in a dumpster, laughing. That wasn't surprising for Gir, but for MiMi it was just unlike her. Tak also discovered Gir had altered her programming to be more 'fun' as he called it and changed her voice to an electronical mimic of Tak's to be 'prettier'. Zim agreed that it sounded better, but Tak was still upset her lethal killing machine laughed and played. She got over it within a few weeks.

Dib was hanging out with Tak while they worked on Zim's ship. As part of their debts to Zim they were ordered to give it a maintenance upgrade. Tak had taken to hanging out with Gaz as well due to their common talent and affection for technology. Tak admired her crude, yet intelligent, robotic creatures and Gaz enjoyed having someone to discuss the finer points of programming with. Irken tech and human tech wasn't far off, apparently.

Larz and Zita had begun a non-serious relationship and extended their mild popularity to the undesirables. Dib, Zim, Tak and Gaz had all gone to their first ever party together on an invitation from Zita. It was odd among all the 'normals' and no one talked to them except for Larz and occasionally Zita.

Dib's birthday came and passed with only Tak getting him anything. She had made him a very simplistic SIR out of scrap. It was named Tad (Tak and Dib). It wasn't nearly as fun as Gir or as intelligent or useful as MiMi, and it could only hold a charge for a few hours, but it was the best Tak could do without any money and loose scrap. She would've asked Gaz for help, but she wanted it to be personal. It looked like a stout trapezoidal cone with bug eyes on a bulky cylinder with twigs for arms and cones for legs, but Dib loved it. Gaz had even gotten him a birthday card. Just a plain card, but it was more than she usually got him. His next birthday Tad was upgraded.

Apparently Dib and Tak mating had not had any harmful effect on either of them, thankfully. Dib had begun studying why saliva and other bodily fluids did not irritate the other and was searching for the neutralizing chemical so they could finally do typical dating stuff without fear of killing each other. Things like drinking the same drink, or swimming, or showering even. Tak still lived in Zim's base and Dib wanted her to move in, but Zim's base had the luxuries and foods an Irken is used to.

Zim and Gaz' relationship picked up, much to Dib's chagrin. He really shouldn't have instigated it. They had gotten into the phase of holding hands. It had happened one day while Gaz was eating pizza. Zim had just risked his life in the movement, gently wrapping his gloved hand around Gaz' free hand. It was only the second time in their relationship that she had stopped from taking a bite of pizza and opened her eyes at the Irken invader. He was nervous again, half-expecting her to punch him or worse. Gaz was breathless for a moment before blushing lightly and returning to eating her pizza. She never moved her hand away.

…

But now was the present. Dib was 18, Gaz was 16. Tak was, gods only knew how many Irken years and same with Zim. They were each a little taller, but not much. They sat quietly in Zim's base, Zim having gathered them for an announcement.

"My servants, and the beautiful Gaz-human," Zim announced to them, "I have called you here to tell you of the Second Phase of my plan!" Gir and MiMi were sitting patiently next to the couch Gaz, Tak and Dib were sitting at. "We are now successfully blended in and it is time to strike! Phase Two!" Zim stated.

Gaz opened an eye slightly at her alien boyfriend. "You do have a Phase Two thought through, right?" She asked. Zim looked at her. "Of course, Gaz-human. I have several! I have called you all here for your strategic analysis of these ideas to see if they'll work." Zim stated.

Zim's first few suggestions all involved the destruction of Earth, so naturally the others voted them out (Gaz had to think about it). Finally Zim found a decent one. "Ok, so how about we get federal-science jobs and infiltrate the government and take hold of them through a puppet regime and use the puppet regime to conquer the rest of the world?" Zim suggested, actually using puppets. Everyone on the couch gave Zim weird looks. "Zim, why do you have puppets of us?" Dib asked. Zim shrugged and gave an 'I dunno'.

"What do you think?" Zim asked. Dib shrugged. He did need to get a job and he was an honour student due to his high grades. Perhaps he could become an investigator for the government? That might be promising. Tak also shrugged. "I guess I could be a robotics expert or mechanical engineer." Tak suggested. Gaz nodded agreement.

"Excellent!" Zim shouted, "Let us go and get ja-obbs!" Zim's butchery of the English language never ceased to entertain Gaz. Dib, Tak and Gaz stood and followed Zim out the door. Gir and MiMi followed their masters without pause.

…

"Are you sure you're eighteen? We can't hire you if you aren't eighteen." A broken-voiced teenager said. Gaz glared at him. "Why not? It's just a video store." She retorted. Apparently Zim was convinced by the federal warning on movies that working at a Rent-a-Flick was a federal job. Oh well, his plan had to screw up somewhere and at least this way they had money.

"Well, I don't see why you have to be eighteen." The squeaky-voiced teen admitted. He leaned in towards Gaz. "Tell you what, you can work here for just under minimum until you're eighteen, kay?" Gaz shrugged. "I guess so." She hissed.

She was handed a red vest and nametag like her brother and the two Irken invaders. They were barely trained and working a night shift on their first day after the interview. "Is Zim's plan not brilliant? Already they trust us with the night shift! It is brilliant!" Zim burst into his evil laughter.

Tak pinched the bridge of her nose. No one came to a Rent-a-Flick at midnight, even she knew that! "Well, it's not the worst plan you've come up with from what Dib's told me." Tak said in her off-English accent. She had quit using both her Jersey and 'teen' voices and simply reverted to her normal tone. "This plan is much better, isn't it?" Zim asked, oblivious of what Tak was implying.

Dib was working the counter with his sister who was playing her new Game Slave 5 under the counter. Tak was stocking shelves while Dib helped her run inventory. Zim was on janitorial duty and ordered Gir to do most of the work. "What does _'To Love a Rose'_ go under?" Tak asked. Dib searched the computer. "Romance-Fantasy." He answered. This was the thirtieth film he had to look up for her. Tak raised an eyebrow at the film and wrote the name on a notepad. She'd have to look into that one.

There was a crash from the bathroom and Gaz let out a sigh. "My stupid boyfriend's probably gone and blown up a toilet. Again." Gaz stated. Dib looked over at her. "I never knew you considered him your boyfriend." Dib admitted. Gaz looked back at him. "Well, we've been dating for two years. That kind of allows the use of proper titles." Gaz continued, returning her attention to her game. Dib crinkled his nose to suppress a laugh. "I suppose you use little pet names, too, huh?" Dib smirked. Gaz snarled at him. "What about you and Tak?" Gaz asked.

"Hey, Dib-bunny?" Tak called back to him. She wasn't really good with nicknames, but she thought the combination of his embarrassment and the idea of Dib in a bunny outfit both cute and entertaining so she kept it. "What is _'Star Wars'_?" She asked. Dib looked at her in surprise and mock anger. "You kid me, right?" Dib asked. Tak shrugged. "It's only the most famous Scifi-fantasy epic saga ever! It's loved around the world!" Dib explained.

Tak shrugged again. Dib smiled as his brow furrowed. "We are so watching that movie. You need to be thoroughly educated in Earthling cinema of the 70's." Dib said. Tak raised an eyebrow at him. "Dib, is that more of your pillow talk? If it is we really need to talk about your take on role-playing and how you suck at it." Tak asked. Gaz snickered at this.

"Gaz, watch the register! Tak is watching the original Star Wars trilogy NOW!" Dib ordered as he grabbed three movies and dragged Tak into the back room reserved for movie screenings for employees. "I'm still confused; is this code for sex?" Tak asked. Dib let out a grunt. "It just seems odd to do in the workplace, that's all!" Tak defended her misinterpretation. "No Tak! You're going to understand the finer points of the greatest scifi, military, romance, fantasy epic saga ever!" Dib explained as the he opened the door and closed it. Tak smiled. Military and romance? She could go for that.

Gaz groaned. Sure no one would come in but that didn't keep her from hating to work the counter on the off chance someone came in. Zim exited the bathroom with a singed wig and Gir following him. "Gir! Why, why did you throw my water-activated explosive pill in the toilet?" Zim demanded of the little green dog. Gir laughed spastically before giving an 'I dunno'.

Gaz opened an eye and shifted her gaze at her alien boyfriend. "Why do you carry water-activated explosives with you when you live on a planet that's surface is over 70% water?" She asked. Zim glared at her. "Because, beautiful Gaz-human, I avoid water because it harms me and am thus my explosives are more likely to avoid water if I carry them. If only Gir hadn't thought they were deceased fishes, the current bathroom problem wouldn't be happening." Zim pointed his thumb back at the water coming from under the door.

Gaz shook her head. "Fix it before you get fired on your first day of work like at McMeaty's." Gaz ordered. Zim shuddered. He hated that place almost as much as he hated Bloaty's. "Zim intended on it." Zim explained, grabbing Gir by his leash and dragged him to the bathroom. He turned slightly back towards his beloved Gaz-human. "Gaz…" Zim began, catching her attention from his sentence lacking the suffix 'human', "You think this plan was a good one, right?" Zim asked.

Gaz looked at him with half-lidded eyes. They were softer than usual as she contemplated why he'd asked this. Zim was always so confident. Why would he be second-guessing himself now, especially on a plan that was actually realistic? Still poorly conceived, but more realistic.

Gaz constructed her answer carefully. "It's the best plan you've ever had." Gaz answered, sealing the impression with a smile. Zim smiled softly in return before entering the bathroom with the green dog.

…

Tak and Dib were sitting on a refurbished coach in a cold concrete room that smelled of bleach and grease. In front of them was a 1980's television set with a VHS/DVD player hooked up to it. The shift had barely started, so Dib knew they'd be able to watch all three movies before the next shift arrived.

Dib carefully placed the first DVD into the player before leaning back on the couch, wrapping his arm around Tak's shoulders and opening a box of Red Vines. Tak's hologram was so sophisticated that not only could a person feel her hair that was nonexistent; she could feel through it as well. She smiled warmly as Dib wrapped his arm around her. It was a simple enough gesture, his arm grazing her hair, but it had felt nice. She sort of longed to be human, if only for the sensation of the simple things like that.

The movie had begun and Tak snuggled in closer to her 'Dib-bunny', oh how his reaction to that name being called was entertaining! She grabbed a piece of licorice. It was one of the few Earth foods that didn't bother Irkens due to being almost nothing but sugar and artificial flavourings and was officially 'their snack'. She tore the licorice in two and placed a piece in Dib's mouth and the other half in her mouth.

Tak carefully read the prologue, intrigued by the story. She became more enthralled (albeit confused at moments) as the movie progressed and by the end of the first film, much to Dib's disappointment, Tak was leaning forward, tactfully watching the screen. Dib's plan to educate her on Earth's movie culture trend might have worked to well as the process continued into the third and second films. By the end of _'Return of the Jedi'_, Tak was sitting on the floor a mere two feet from the television, leaning forward in wonderment.

It took Tak a minute to realize she had become too enthralled in the story and she backed away in embarrassment. She sat back on the couch with Dib. "Well, that was a good series." Tak said, forcing her hologram not to translate her blushing into her disguise. Dib yawned. "Yeah. I told you it would be." Dib stuck his tongue out at her. Tak scooted closer to Dib. "So, what else do you want to do?" Tak traced an Irken symbol of love into his chest. It was an almost forgotten symbol on her homeworld.

Dib gave her a peck on cheek and got up from the couch. "Our shift will be over soon." Dib looked at a clock, "Plus we should probably do some work considering we just watched six hours worth of film while being paid." Tak made a weird face. "Well, we don't have to actually DO anything. We could just sit here, snuggle and make small-talk like the other worm-mates do." Tak suggested.

Dib smiled. That was a pretty good idea. So, he sat down once more beside Tak after finding a blanket. They curled up before MiMi curled her cat form around their legs. Dib had almost forgotten she was there. Both the paranormal investigator and his ironically alien girlfriend curled into each other's embrace and sat with eyes closed for a moment.

Finally Dib began the talking. "Tak, why are you on Earth?" Dib asked. Tak's eyes had immediately shot open but they closed as she composed a reply. "I came back because of you." She whispered. Dib wasn't quite sure he heard right. "Because of me?" He asked in disbelief. "Yeah. Weird, right?" Tak responded, "I'd mated a lot in simulators, courted a lot of other males and a few females of nearly every alien species imaginable, but not one of them matched up to your… genuine kind character." Tak admitted. Dib smiled at her admission. She'd finally stopped lying to him and the truth was actually mind-blowing.

Now it was Tak's turn. "If you couldn't be a paranormal investigator, what would you be?" Tak asked. Dib had never really thought about it. The paranormal was his life. "I guess I'd get a job defending the Earth in some other way…" Dib pondered. Tak glanced at him. "You know, not all aliens are out to destroy Earth. Look at Larz." Tak stated. Dib shrugged. "True, but… I don't know. I guess I've always wanted a united humanity working for the better of the human race." Dib explained.

Tak actually laughed at the idea. It wasn't the thought she saw humans as weak or the question of why Dib wanted to help them, just the fact it could never happen. "Dib, have you ever studied human history?" Tak asked. Dib frowned. "Yeah, yeah. It always repeats. That's why we study it now to keep it from repeating." Dib reasoned. Tak scoffed. "I've examined several history textbooks from all over the globe! They've all been altered for propaganda purposes." Tak explained, "Even American ones set certain tones about certain countries. If anything teaching history has been used to turn people against each other and repeat it!" Tak laughed again.

Dib sighed. "What about the Irkens? How do their studies go?" Dib asked. Tak raised an eyebrow. "We don't have a skool or any studies. Everything is programmed into our PAKs and only the ones who can make the most out of it when we're shmeets survive to adulthood." Tak explained, "Then we choose whether a path of honour and glory as a soldier, Elite or Invader; or a life of mediocrity and peaceful living, such as Foodcourtia or Boxvona."

Dib was shocked. "Wait, how on Earth did Zim survive?" Dib asked in wonder. Tak shrugged. "He's good at using his allies as shields." She said. "So why'd you choose a soldier's path?" Dib asked. Tak didn't answer, contemplating the question. It seemed like a stupid thing to ask, but then again, Dib lived on a world as much devoted to war and conquering but with little-to-no progress.

"When I finally reached the surface of Irk I was stunned by the beauty of it. Purple domes and ships standing against a pink sky. Large towers and all that. But what caught all of our attentions, what few shmeets were left that is, were the battalions of Irken Elite on parade with their battle tanks and maim-bots." Tak explained, "I think they put the academy next to the exit to entice us into joining. It wasn't that hard to get in, but getting out was difficult." Dib was in awe again. "But… how did Zim get out?" Dib asked. Tak giggled in response.

"So, whatever happened to your fake father?" Dib asked, referring to the Deelishous Weenies vendor. Tak's face had mixed emotions about him. "He took the leftover money he found exploring my base and split. I doubt he even noticed I existed." Tak noted. Dib let out a single, dark chuckle. "Yeah, I know how you feel." He said.

Tak raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "You know how I feel?" Tak asked, "But you have a father." Dib let out another dark chuckle. "A father? No. I have a parent who cloned himself, and for what purpose? Merely because it was one of his first achievements in science. His first push of the envelope on the world. His first show of brilliance." Dib explained wistfully, "Then he thought 'If I can clone myself exactly, why not clone a female version as well?'. Needless to say, Gaz was engineered. We were pinnacles of his genius and for a short time her cared for us. Then bigger projects came along and the world forgot about us. Dad forgot about us." Dib finished his sentence by tossing a Red Vine into his mouth.

Tak's antennae were lowered empathetically. It was sad enough to lack a father or a mother, but to actually have a father that ignored you… that was unbearable. "He loves you though, right?" Tak asked. Dib shrugged. "He loves Gaz. He's been there for her a few times, trying to catch her birthdays and all. But me? I don't know. I think it's out of a fear of self-gratitude that he doesn't extend that love towards me. Or it could be a genetic fault. Dad hates me. Gaz hates me. Even I hate myself sometimes." Dib admitted.

Tak was shocked and slightly angry. She grabbed Dib by the collar and leaned him close to her angered gaze. "Listen to me, Dib Membrane," Tak began harshly, "From what I've seen; Gaz adores you in her own… Gaz-ish way and I couldn't live without you." And she sealed her point with a kiss to his lips. Just a nice, caring kiss, nothing powerful or lustful. Dib smiled. "You were always good with words. And with such a smexy accent." Dib made a funny face as he stroked Tak's holographic hair, making careful sure not to knick her sensitive antennae and get her riled up.

…

Dib and Tak emerged from the break room to return to their jobs, cursing as they realized they still had shelves to stock in less than two hours. Gaz sat bored as Zim returned from the bathrooms with his robotic pup. "You know what I just realized?" Gaz asked the others as they looked at her questioningly, "We have skool tomorrow." Everyone moaned as they realized they hadn't slept for over 16 hours. "Technically, we have school today." Dib pointed to the clock that declared it was 3:50. They could get off at 5:00 and sleep at school for 3 hours, if they were lucky.

Tak and Dib finished stacking shelves as Zim, Gir and MiMi finished cleaning up the mess from the bathroom detonations. Gaz was in the security booth erasing footage of Tak and Dib in the break room for six-and-a-half hours and of Zim blowing up the toilets.

As Gaz was erasing footage she listened to snips and clips of individual scenes. She caught her name in Dib's conversation and rewound to hear the entire scene.

_"But you have a father."_

Dib let out another dark chuckle.

"_A father? No. I have a parent who cloned himself, and for what purpose? Merely because it was one of his first achievements in science. His first push of the envelope on the world. His first show of brilliance. Then he thought 'If I can clone myself exactly, why not clone a female version as well?' Needless to say, Gaz was engineered. We were pinnacles of his genius and for a short time he cared for us. Then bigger projects came along and the world forgot about us. Dad forgot about us."_

Gaz sat in astonishment over the segment. Her brother really thought that negatively? He always seemed, if anything, too chipper and positive. His tone was dark. He didn't seem to be blaming their father for any of the resentment though he said it. He blamed himself. Everyone blamed him.

Gaz sat back in her seat. Dib had such a bleak opinion of himself but such optimism for humanity. She had always thought him an idiot for that. All he ever did was try and help them, try to protect them and what did they do? They turned him into a pariah! Gaz did admire his persistence, though. Even with the people he tried to protect against him and the threat of an Invader killing Earth off he kept fighting. She'd seen him shirtless around the house a few times; he had more than enough scars as examples of his misfortunes with Zim.

But why keep fighting? Zim was a foolish opponent. She loved him, but gods was he an idiot! Sure, he had a few good plans that would have worked without interference from either Dib or herself, but most of them were ridiculous and poorly conceived. Gaz knew the answer, though she never liked to think of it.

Dib was nothing without the fight. Less than nothing. Outcast of society. Seemingly hated by even his own sister. Fatally wounded and barely saved several times with no one caring, not even Gaz at some points. She almost felt guilt over her treatment of her brother.

But she had been there for him through numerous of his rough times. Whenever he was captured by Zim, she'd bust him out eventually. If he were ever wounded, she'd take him to a hospital (although she was very annoyed each time). How could Dib think she hated him? If she truly hated him, she would've killed him or left him for dead. She guessed she could show a little positive emotion towards her brother, but it still bugged her immensely.

She sighed and finished deleting the footage and replacing it with time-altered footage of them working. Gaz exited the booth to meet up with her brother, boyfriend and Tak. Gaz looked at her brother and noticed something that made her cheeks burn with shame. She had never noticed before, but her brother always, ever so slightly, winced whenever she looked at him or moved towards him. Gaz didn't want her brother-sister relationship to be that bad, so she decided to do something un-Gaz like. Something that startled even Zim and Tak.

Dib didn't even notice until it was too late. Gaz had wrapped her arms around him in a quick embrace. It was cold and short, like Gaz herself, but there was something else in that fragment of second long hug. There was a tiny bit of… love.

And with that, Gaz dragged her boyfriend and Gir out of the Rent-a-Flick as the day shift relieved them of their duties, leaving the still-awed Dib and his girlfriend to follow them seconds later.

**Chapter 12 Complete, please R&R.**

**Well, Gaz actually hugged Dib. What about that?**


	13. Lizard Liberation

They'd fallen asleep again.

It was a late Friday evening and the group had gotten together to study for the year's finals. Summer break was less than a month away and they didn't work on Saturdays. Weekdays after skool and Sundays, but not Saturdays.

Gaz had been the first to knock out, her GS5 in her hands as Zim laid her down on Dib's couch. Zim soon fell to sleep as well, rolling up against the couch Gaz slept on. Tak had fallen asleep at the table and was too comfortable there to be moved, so Dib merely slipped his coat onto her again. He was the only one left but he too fell into a deep sleep after a few grumbling conversations with himself.

…

A stir in the house woke MiMi up and she silently woke her Mistress and Master up. Tak and Dib groggily prepared for whatever might come and were startled to find Larz the Lizard Boy in his tight-collared military uniform and frock coat. He had an odd rifle, some sort of standard-issued Saurian rifle before the takeover. He signed for Tak, MiMi and Dib to follow him outside and they did.

"What is it, Larz?" Tak asked the redheaded Saurian. His tongue flickered a few times before he began explaining. "The iron is hot for striking." Larz explained, "My homeworld is in a time of rebellious strife and I need you guys to help me with the final push to liberate it." Larz said.

Dib put up some resistance against the idea, what with final exams coming up and his having a job. "Take a vacation! Say it's a family issue!" Larz argued, "Darn it Dib! This'll be a major strike against the Irkens! Isn't that what you dream of?" Larz asked. Dib couldn't argue with that. "You'll be heralded as a hero on my world." Larz further offered. Dib submitted and Larz happily led them to his ship, disguised as a car.

They stepped into the car and sat down, strapping themselves in. Larz began the launch sequence when he heard a muffled voice from the backseat. Dib and Tak heard it to and turned to the furthest back seat where Zita popped up asking how Gaz had snuck in.

Larz and Dib both let out startled gasps at this conundrum. "Zita, how—Why are you here?" Larz asked as he saw there was no avoiding the launch. "Because, I wanted to know where you were off to." Zita explained as if it were obvious. "Gaz, why are you here?" Dib asked. "Isn't that what every human wonders?" Gaz retorted simply. Dib rolled his eyes.

The car began to shake violently as Zita questioned if there was an earthquake occurring. Larz sighed. This had to have come eventually. "Um, Zita?" Larz began nervously, "I'm actually an alien and we're heading into outer space to liberate my homeworld." He put it bluntly. Before she could ask what he meant the car had converted into a cruiser and was leaving the Earth's atmosphere.

Zita let out a sharp scream and the others winced due to the proximity. "Congratulations! Your ex-boyfriend was not crazy!" Tak smirked. Zita had calmed down a bit before eyeing the group in the car.

"So let me get this straight:" Zita began after being filled in on all of their origins, "You two are clones of your father?" Zita asked as she pointed to Dib and Gaz. "Yep." Dib said as Gaz shrugged. "And you're an alien; the same species as Zim and the species that conquered Larz' homeworld?" Zita asked Tak. "Sorry about that, by the way." Tak said as she deactivated her disguise. "And you're a real lizard boy?" Zita demanded from her boyfriend. "We actually prefer the term Saurian." Larz said.

Zita was exasperated. Two aliens and two clones. "So, you left me for an alien of the same species you're trying to destroy?" Zita asked Dib. "You left me." Dib retorted. Zita nodded. He was right, there. "Alright. So my ex is a clone and my boyfriend is an alien. I think I'm ok with that." Zita smiled.

Dib and Larz looked at each other questioningly. "Really?" Larz asked his lavender-haired girlfriend. "Yeah, but just one last question." Zita said. Larz waited for her to continue. "Why the hell are you going martyr on me to liberate a world you've been away from for nearly 18 years?" She demanded. Larz lifted his hands in defense as she hit him several times.

Larz shrugged. "My uncle told me about the glory of Sauria before it was conquered by the Irkens. Now my people are reduced to driving forklifts and loading trucks or cargo ships." Larz explained. All of the girls exchanged awkward looks. "That doesn't actually sound too bad." Gaz shrugged. Larz glared at her, but the glare he got in returned stifled his. "Well, it's more of a pride thing…" Larz explained. "Pride?" Zita asked, "You're going on a mission against an empire out of pride?"

"Dib, if anyone here will agree with me, it has to be you!" Larz stated. Dib gave a nod of agreement. "From what Tak and Zim have told me, and my own observations, the Irkens will not stop until all other races of the universe are conquered and serve them." He explained. "Granted they have a tendency to either spoil or torture, so there's no in-between to try and take sides…" Tak added.

"Well, it's too late to go back anyways." Larz stated, pointing at the autopilot. "So, what's Sauria like?" Tak asked. She'd met a few Saurians, even courted one or two, back on Foodcourtia and wanted to hear about their homeworld. "Have you studied Earth's rainforests?" Larz asked. Tak nodded; she paid attention in skool. "Well, it used to look like those, all across the planet and with reptiles of every shape and kind and insects galore." Larz continued his explanation. "Used to?" Dib asked. Larz sighed. "My uncle said that most, if not all, the trees were removed to make way for roads for distribution and warehouses and docks for shipping freighters." Larz explained.

"We'll get your homeworld back." Dib assured Larz. "I hope so." Was all Larz could respond.

…

They had a nutrient-enriched snack with neutral chemicals and no flavour for lunch. Gaz had complained, but she stowed away and didn't bring any food. Tak and Dib were happy to find something else they could eat together and Zita was still shocked over the fact Dib had been right and her current boyfriend was an alien. Eventually things winded down and everyone except Dib and Gaz were asleep. Tak was still wearing Dib's coat, which she refused to remove because it was 'soft and warm'.

Dib sat, looking at the stars. In all his years of paranormal investigating and paranoia at Zim, he'd forgotten just how beautiful the stars themselves were. Space. It was man's final destination and the only way they'd ever achieve such privileges as the Irkens were to be conquered by the Irkens and have their planet's natural beauty ravaged for something as simple as, who knew, a shopping mall for example.

He didn't notice someone watching him until he felt that familiar chill and breathe on his neck. He turned to see Gaz behind him. "Hey Gaz." Dib said, used to her dark presence. Gaz continued to study her brother. In the last few years his optimism had died down and there always seemed to be a wistful, 'I am the sole warrior' attitude like he was breaking down.

"You know I'm not a clone of Dad, right?" Gaz asked her brother. Dib raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? He said we were both clones." Dib replied. "Yes, but he said you were a clone of him. He left me out." Gaz explained, "I did some research and found out I was a clone of a dark, though loving, college student under him. I've seen the pictures and have to say we have the same look about us."

Dib nodded slightly. He could see that, but was still moderately surprised. Gaz wasn't even blood-related to him. All his brotherly love in her seemed… false all of a sudden. "That doesn't mean I don't think of you as a brother." Gaz said. Dib looked back over his shoulder at his sister. "In fact, I always thought you were a pretty good older brother. The better sibling, if nothing else." Gaz said.

Dib raised an eyebrow at her. "I always figured you hated me." Dib responded flatly. Gaz looked away from her brother. "Well, than you really are an idiot." Gaz said, "I admit you're the better sibling, but I've never truly meant any of my hate spews. Oh, the threats, yes, but the hate? Never." Dib still glanced at her questioningly. "How am I the better sibling? You're always at my side on missions, always there to rescue me and save my life. No matter how I screw up or have ever wronged you, you always stood by me. In fact, you were always the only person I could ever count on." Dib explained.

Gaz actually smiled at this. "Shut up before your mush makes me sick." Gaz threatened. "But you are the better sibling," Gaz said, "Whenever I was sick growing up, you'd make me soup. I'd throw it back in your face many times. Whenever you were sick, I'd ignore you. The few times I've been injured seriously, tears or not, you'd take me to the hospital without haste. Whenever you were injured seriously, and it would have to be severe, I'd just ignore you for several days until it was necessary. Then there are the small things, like remembering my birthday when I forget yours or always watching after me. Things any sibling should do that you do so well."

Dib couldn't believe this. Gaz was being nice to him; complimenting him, even. "You really think so?" Dib asked. Gaz grabbed him forcibly by the collar of his shirt and drew him in a mere inch from her face. Her breath was icy cool but the glint in her eye was worse. "Yes, I do, and if you tell anyone -**anyone!**- anything about this conversation, I will break your limbs and throw you into the neighbor's pool, watching you attempt to swim back to the surface until I feel you've suffered enough. And Dib? That's when **I** think you've suffered enough; not any of the airheads at school or anyone with a sliver of benevolence. Understand?" Gaz threatened. Dib nodded agreement in a nervous sweat.

And with that, his sister released him and went to sleep. Dib, after his heart rate decreased, fell asleep as well lying next to Tak.

…

Dib awoke to warmth. Tak had rolled around and hugged Dib sometime during their sleep and the combined heat of her body and his within his jacket was comforting. Her antennae were twitching with some happy dream. Gaz sat by herself in the back, sleeping in. Zita was asleep against Larz' side while he was piloting the ship.

"Ah, good Dib. You're awake." Larz nodded at him quiet enough not to disturb the sleeping females, "I'm using experimental wormhole technology to cut the strip from roughly six months to a mere two days." Larz explained, pointing to the complicated controls. Dib wasn't very good with machines; they were more of Gaz or Tak's field. No, Dib was more of an environmentally-aware scientist: investigative, knowing much of ecology and sociology and behavioral sciences and all around well-educated. Just not good at technology other than magical-tech, like spell casters.

"Did you say experimental?" Dib asked. Larz shrugged. "There's a 1/10000 chance we'll be lost to the warping and waning of the wormhole." Larz admitted. "1/10000?" Dib asked, "In something as astronomical as wormholes and space that's like nothing!" Larz flicked his tongue reassuringly. "Ah, but you humans have never experienced wormhole travelling! It's a fairly smooth ride." Larz assured Dib.

Already they were half way there. Another day of the five just sitting, chatting, eating nutrient paste and sleeping and that was it. They had reached Sauria.

…

Gaz awoke to the other passengers murmuring unsurely about the rocky descent. "Exactly what era ship is this thing?" Tak asked Larz who was attempting to manually stabilize the ship's descent with the aide of onboard AI. "Oh, I'd reckon Pre-Miyuki- or even Pre-Spork-Era." Larz said. Gaz inferred that was pretty old judging by how pale Tak's face went and how wide her eyes went.

"Don't worry; we'll land in one piece!" Larz attempted to assure his companions. "We should have just taken Tak's ship." Dib said, referring to the old one. "Yeah, my ship is up-to-date on all Irken techs! We'd be on the surface by now!" Tak agreed, referring to the new one. She still didn't know Dib had her ship.

Zita was the most worried out of the group since this wasn't any of the other passenger's first rocky descent or crash landing in a spaceship. "Why did I tag along?" Zita nearly screamed. "Zita, please just calm down! I've almost got it!" Larz ordered, slamming his foot onto the air brake controls. There was a squeaking noise as the rusted air brakes opened and a sudden shove forwards as the brakes caught air and the parachutes deployed.

The descent soon stabilized and the blast blinds could be opened. Larz silently cursed at what had become of his homeworld. His uncle had been right. The planet was completely deforested. The only lakes were full of toxic off-put and the Saurians, from the ships planet sweep, were either working in warehouses or transferring somewhere else in the Empire. Sauria was dead. Only Boxvona was here.

But there was a sliver of hope. A fraction of the warehouse districts were burning and another was rubble. A third district waved an ancient banner of Sauria, little more than a green gecko-like emblem on a black banner with a red stripe running down one side. There were more and more Saurians, and even a few Irken immigrants, flocking towards this encampment peacefully. This is where they were landing.

They got off the ship and Tak reactivated her disguise. Something about being Irken in the midst of a bunch of Resisty members, Irken defectors and Saurian rebels made her feel uncomfortable with her title as 'most elite Irken warrior ever'. Tak had failed to notice in her blind service to the Irken Tallest, but their vice grip on the Empire and the treatment of civilians had worsened over the years, and she had been a faithful soldier of them. It was the honourable thing, that's what she'd said. That's what she'd been told.

The old Resisty saying for stealing snacks to 'feed the revolution' had been an understatement. The Resisty and defectors were malnourished and diseased. They were ill-equipped and outnumbered, and yet… Tak couldn't place it, but they seemed stronger than the Irkens.

The group met up with Larz' father, Galhorn. "Welcome back to the front, Sholf." Galhorn said. Gaz and Dib suppressed snickers as Zita giggled. Larz' real name was Sholf. "What? It's a common name on Sauria!" Larz defended with a flicker of his tongue. Tak was still absentmindedly observing the devastation of the world. She'd been apart of a few invasions en force; worlds taken by full scale military conquest rather than tactical insertion and blending, but never had she been there afterwards. She'd killed and captured, tortured even, hundreds of members of various resistances but she never saw it from their side. It didn't matter that conditions were good within the Empire (though they had been worsening), they'd taken planets by force and reassigned them from life-bearing worlds for civilization to blossom into worlds dedicated to singular services. Sure, that was alright for mining worlds or farm worlds, but worlds with trees being torn down just for a shipping district? Just for minerals or fuel? Just for factories? Where was the life in Tak's glorious Empire?

She snapped out of her thoughts when Dib called her over to the group. Apparently she'd strayed off. "What is it?" She asked defensively as she approached. "Galhorn would like to know if you are comfortable declaring your allegiance with the Resisty or if you'd like to stay in the Empire incognito." Larz explained.

Tak took another glance around the encampment. She deactivated her disguised much to her immediate friends' surprise. Galhorn took a step back as did his bodyguards and many other Resisty members and defectors. "Tak the Irken Elite?" Galhorn asked in disbelief. Tak saluted.

"I'm willing to serve until this world is liberated." Tak stated, her purple orbs blazing with fury. Dib stared in awe at his girlfriend. She had once been so eager, so patriotic, so willing to serve for her Empire, kill for it if need be. Now she had just announced her defection to the Resisty.

Tak stood in pride at her decision as the Resisty and defectors cheered her on and went to spreading the word and writing propaganda. Now she recognized the spark in their eyes. The spark that made them stronger than the Irken Empire. She recognized it as she glared into her own reflection. It was the look Dib had in his eyes. It was the look painted on propaganda pamphlets of revolution from every era of human history and every other species. It was the spark of defiance.

It was the spark of Revolution.

**Chapter 13 Complete, please R&R**

**Oh! My damned Marxist ideologies flared there for a second, but I think it'll play out nicely for the next few chapters.**


	14. Shortest Revolution EVER

Dib joined in the group of Resisty members as Tak and other Irken military defectors trained Irken military methods. Dib added a few useful anti-Irken moves he'd picked up in his duels with Zim.

Gaz and Tak had begun construction on a large machine that would pull water from deep below the planet's surface, amassing it to flood the only planetary Irken military base. MiMi, although slightly ditsy from her reprogramming, was very useful in the drafting and mathematical parts of the designs.

Dib, using that big-old-poetic brain of his, aided the propaganda staff in writing and designing posters. The group as a whole having studied the repetitive history of Earth and not wanting it to repeat, also advised the Saurians and Irken defectors on how their worlds should be run after being recaptured and how they should go about the recapture.

"First thing's first: does your species ever get resentful of one another?" Tak asked. Galhorn shrugged. "Only during mating season." He admitted. "Ok, well during every other season your world should operate under a very loose confederation of states run by sole-democratic choice. There should be elected representatives and a head, planetary power elected from a single mass election." Tak explained. Galhorn and his political officers were taking notes.

"Irken defectors! What works on Sauria and with Saurians will probably not work with you guys. You've lived under strict, militaristic regimes for so long and quite frankly, you can all be rather resentful and hateful. In a democracy you'd tear each other's throats out, even the compassionate few of you." Dib explained. The Irken defectors shrugged and nodded in agreement. "I believe a single, intelligent SIR unit should be programmed to rule over the Irken populace, under a dictatorial democracy. You vote on issues and the SIR carries them out through you. The SIR will be programmed to slowly curb the Irkens' almost heritable hatreds until your species can function under a similar system as the Saurians here, and then will deactivate itself." Dib explained.

"These are just suggestions; you guys are free to alter them!" Tak added as a footnote. The political officers scribbled this down too.

…

Finally their day of attack came. The Tallest, as usual, were either too lazy to deal with the Boxvona uprising, preoccupied with another matter or merely didn't care, so there was little resistance to fight against.

Zita and Dib made sure to take notes from various bloody revolutions in their world's past not to repeat it. Such blood spill was good for morale but was agreed a waste of life. The Resisty agreed not to kill unless absolutely necessary and to look upon it as not a glorious strike against the Empire but as a necessary action.

So they took their accumulated water and filled tanker trucks, water guns and balloons. Childish weapons, they seemed, but to Irkens it was like fire. Tak had opted to stay at the front of the attack but was urged by Larz, Dib, Zita and even Gaz to stay back with them in a forward command tent.

At dawn the following Thursday (nearly a week after they left Earth) Galhorn released several hours of propaganda at the enemy with interwoven requests for surrender. The most popular and most effective propaganda had been an artistic poster of Tak and Dib and Larz (the official poster models for the Saurian branch of the Resisty and the Resisty as a whole) charging into battle with ruins and fire around them, anti-Irken Empire banners raised high. The caption for the poster, though written in Saurian, stated: "Saurian Citizens! Rise up and take back your world! Follow the examples of our glorious allies!" The slogan was picked up in other revolutionary movements later with different heroes, but the message was the same: anti-Irken Empire, immensely inspiring.

They had gotten several batches of the more yellowed or less-loyal Irkens to defect during those last hours, and then they flooded the military base, killing or wounding the remaining Irken soldiers. The wounded were captured and imprisoned while the rations were distributed amongst the ranks of Resisty members.

Other Irken military units had simply surrendered. Their conditions had soured under the Tallest's new, more heartless regime. With fewer privileges even with their soldier's status, and with command out they merely surrendered. Even Baron Dir, the Invader who had conquered the world, had surrendered and was in a work camp with half a thousand other captured Irken soldiers.

…

And that had been the retaking of Sauria. They'd taken back the planet in a week. How anticlimactic.

So, it was on Saturday a week and one day after they left that Dib and his party wished to leave. Larz had gotten them a cruiser with modern wormhole technology that was not only faster, it was safer as well. He wanted to stay with his people, to rebuild his world.

"But, Larz…" Zita had tears in her eyes as she looked at her boyfriend. He was a hero, a bloodless revolutionary and a respected leader and for most of her life she had barely noticed him. They were the same age in Earth years. They were both fans of Count Cocoafang. And yet she hadn't noticed him until Dib noticed him.

"Zita –oh gods is this difficult- I want you to know I love you." Larz had begun. Zita couldn't help a few tears escaping. "I love you more than I do my own world or my people, but I can't merely forsake them! A nation just out of revolution is the most susceptible to failure. It's history. Weeds are retaking factories and the lakes and oceans are being cleaned. Life is returning to normal here, but it still needs to be well-defended from a retaking." Larz explained.

Zita turned from him and sighed as she regained control of her tears. Another man forsaking her for duty that was, in all honesty, more important than her. It was the noblest reason to break up with a woman, but it was the worst reason to be broken up for! You couldn't stand a chance against it!

She walked back towards Gaz and Tak to be comforted with girl talk, though how a near-emotionless terror and an alien soldier could comfort a normal teenage girl was beyond anyone's grasp. Larz sighed, feeling like an idiot. He looked towards Dib after he felt a hand lightly placed on his shoulder.

"Why not come back to Earth?" Dib asked Larz. "My place is here; on my world, protecting it. Rebuilding it." Larz said. Dib shook his head. "A few years back I thought my place was the sole defender of Earth against what I assumed was a competent alien force. Then I dated Zita and got sidetracked. I broke up with Zita but met Tak and I've found a balance between my love of her and defending my planet. If you ask me, Earth is more of your world than Sauria and I'm sure your father would agree."

Dib left Larz and headed back to the group, leaving Larz to contemplate his decision awhile longer. Galhorn approached him. "Something troubling you?" He asked his son. Larz shook his head. Galhorn was a smart Saurian and knew of emotions. "Son, go with her. Go back to your world." Galhorn urged.

Larz looked up at his father. "But this is my world. This is my homeworld, my place of birth. I came back and fought for its liberation." Larz argued halfheartedly. "True, but where were you for nearly twenty years in preparation? What media and cultures appeal to you?" Galhorn asked his son. Larz knew the answer as well as he did: Earth. "Where does the woman you love live?" Galhorn asked finally. Larz turned suddenly back to his father but he had vanished.

Larz looked back towards the pouting Zita and the glares of Tak and Gaz. Girls had that creepy pack instinct, Larz had noticed. He sighed as he saw them board the cruiser.

…

"So that's that, huh?" Zita sighed. The others were in a similar silence. Tak was setting the ship up for a pre-programmed route for minimum work using MiMi to check her math. Gaz was playing her GS5 more, leaving Dib alone to comfort Zita.

Suddenly there came a knocking at the entrance of the cruiser and Dib opened the ship questioningly. Larz immediately strode in and closed the door behind him. Zita glared daggers at him and stood to face him.

What ensued was an argument that turned aggressive when Zita tried to slap Larz only to be caught and spun around into his embrace. Zita struggled against his firm, though soft embrace but ultimately calmed down and admitted she was happy to see him again. They then made out much to the disgust of Dib, Gaz and even Tak. Something about a Saurian-length tongue wriggling in your mouth was off-putting.

"Anyways, let's get off this rock and back to our own planet." Gaz demanded rather than suggested. Tak nodded agreement and activated the ship's engines. The cruiser took off at a breakneck speed and exited the planet's surface. Within two days they were back on Earth.

**Chapter 14 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, sorry for such a short chapter that skipped all the action and didn't really say much. This one… this one kind of sucked. My bad, I owe you faithful readers a good chapter!**


	15. Another Irken?

It was a miracle they hadn't lost their jobs after being gone for nearly two weeks.

"We-We're still employed?" Dib asked in disbelief. "Yeah. Your green friend covered for you the time you were gone." Their squeaky-voiced employer informed them. Gaz growled and hit herself in the head, furious at her forgetfulness. It had been over a week and Zim had no idea where they had been! He must have been either furious or worried sick!

As if to prove her point the Irken invader stomped from the break room and growled at the group of three, his faithful hyper robot behind him in disguise. "Anyways, my shift is over so you guys work until the night shift gets here, ok?" The employer said before leaving.

Zim glared at his friends. "Where have you been?" Zim asked. Dib gulped slightly. "Well, Zim, Tak and I were uh… Helping the homeless?" Dib explained meagerly. "For over nine Earth days I have been stuck here pulling all of your weight for my plan. That's not even the bad part. The bad part is how suddenly you all disappeared on me! ME!" Zim fumed, "Especially you, Gaz-human! I was afraid one of those horrible dirt-men from the city had assaulted you like they had Tak!" Zim really had a measure of concern in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Zim. I just tagged along with my stupid brother and his girlfriend to see where they were going. I didn't know how long it would be." Gaz explained. Dib and Tak were shocked at her apologizing without a sour tone to it as if it were genuine, which it was. "As long as you are alright now, Gaz-human." Zim said before eying her up and down, "You are the Gaz-human, correct? Not some assassin in disguise, right?" Zim asked. He was answered by a punch to the arm.

"But Zim still wants to know; where in the name of Irk were you guys?" Zim demanded, "I've been getting scattered reports from Irken military feeds saying Tak's gone traitor, Boxvona is no longer Irken-held, the Resisty is actually making progress and that a large-headed human male was seen aiding in the liberation of Boxvona!"

The group of three silently slipped each other half-lidded glances. "Um, must have just been bad radio feed?" Tak suggested. Zim rubbed his chin, unconvinced. "Or maybe it's just some clever Resisty ruse to try and fool the lesser Irken invaders." Dib added, playing on Zim's ego. "Hmm? The Resisty try and fool Zim? Ha! I am too smart for their tricks! Like the Empire could ever lose a world to such pathetic enemies!" Zim laughed. He didn't notice Tak gritting her teeth before regaining her self control.

"Anyways, what's today's workload?" Tak asked. Zim grinned slyly. "We're working the day shift, or should Zim say, 'you're working the day shift'?" Zim stuck his tongue out. No one argued; he'd been pulling their load for over a week and deserved a break. Bags were forming under the Irken's eyes, which was odd for his species, so he must have been incredibly tired. "Fair enough." Tak shrugged in agreement.

"Excellent!" Zim shouted before collapsing onto the floor and snoring. "Master got a good idea!" Gir squealed before collapsing next to Zim and joining in on snoring. "Idiot." Gaz snorted before dragging Zim and his robot into the break room and placing them on the couch to sleep.

The day shift was a little more difficult than the night shift, but not by much. More people were using Netflix and the like rather than going to a Rent-a-Flick, so there still weren't many customers. Gaz and Dib stocked the shelves as Tak ran the counter. She was reading a science fiction magazine. She'd secretly formed a liking to human's interpretations on aliens and alien tech and was rather impressed by some of the stories, though she wasn't about to admit it to Dib or any other human.

There was a tap at the counter and Tak glanced up from her magazine and almost scowled. It was one of the pitiful worm-babies at skool that insulted her frequently. "Oh my god, it's Gak!" The vicious blonde announced to her grouping of giggling drones. Tak didn't feel like dealing with her or her ilk today and put her left hand gently to her temple. A blue flash crossed her gaze and the teens were transfixed suddenly.

"Didn't you three have to go across the city to pick up some boards from the boarded up district?" Tak suggested to their subconscious. "Oh yeah…" The blonde murmured and began to make for the door. Tak stopped her for a minute. "Don't forget to pay for the 26 movies you rented." Tak smirked at the hypnotized teen. After handing the money over to Tak the hypnotized girls left the store and began walking far away.

Tak stuck the money in the register, having no need for it herself. "Well, that was entertaining and profitable!" Tak laughed in her pitched, squirrely laughter. "Tak, was it a good idea to send them to the bad districts in town? You know what goes on there…" Dib tapped the shelves nervously.

"Oh, relax Dib. They'll snap out of it once they're safely out of range, which is about a hundred or so meters." Tak waved her hand at Dib reassuringly. "Well, alright then." Dib returned to stacking movies. How so few people could check movies out and how they always had something to stock was a mystery worthy of Mysterious Mysteries.

"So, what should we do for date night Saturday?" Dib asked, "Stargazing? Another movie night? Perhaps just a romantic dinner of our favourite dishes?" Dib was throwing out suggestions. Tak tapped her chin in contemplation. Movies were getting old and she was too used to stars. Gods how she wished her and Dib could find a food besides licorice to eat together so they could just eat out. "I don't know. Perhaps we could go shopping?" Tak almost slapped herself for suggesting such a stupid idea. Where had it even come from? Maybe she'd been on Earth a little too long.

Dib smirked at the idea of Tak wanting to go shopping. "Where exactly would you like to go?" Dib asked. "I don't know." Tak fumed, still embarrassed by her lame suggestion, "Isn't there a Radio Shack or a Best Buy I can lynch parts off of? Not that human machinery is really good anyway…" Dib snapped his fingers and let out a 'eureka!' "What about the Technology Faire that's coming out after graduation! It's a little after Saturday, but I'm sure you'll have fun there." He suggested. He'd remembered his father giving his annual invitation for both him and his sister to go to his Faire and see him shine gloriously over all competitors.

Gaz was going and taking Zim along; convincing him he'd be able to find weaknesses in Earthling technology. Tak agreed to join even though that meant a postponing of their official date night (not that they didn't see each other every other waking moment).

Little did they know that they were being watched by a vile entity. Across the street was what appeared to be a homeless man merely standing in the alleyways, blending in perfectly with the flow of people. Gaz looked up from the counter just for a stray moment seeing the hobo through the press of bodies passing by. He was staring at her. When she opened one of her eyes wider to get a better look he had disappeared.

Gaz merely shrugged it off and returned to her GS5 as Dib told Tak about the Faire two years ago while restocking shelves.

…

About a mile away, a few blocks from the Rent-a-Flick, that same hobo flickered in the darkness of the alley. His form shifted to a shorter, greener form. A raggedy lab was following him but this too shifted into something else; a standard-issue SIR unit.

"Invader Vem reporting in, my Tallest." The Irken spoke into the communicator on its PAK. "I've infiltrated this world and have spotted the defector and her Resisty allies. It seems they're in league with Zim…" Vem explained into the communicator.

Tallest Purple's voice rang over the communicator. "Zim? Oh, this is great!" Tallest Red added in, "Yes, now you can destroy all of these nuisances to the Empire at once! Nothing will be able to stop us!" Vem smirked viciously at the malevolence of his leaders. They were almost as ruthless as him.

Vem stood with his SIR. He was your standard Irken, though taller than most, except for his peculiar facial features. Being a trained warrior turned criminal and arrested for his murder of several Irken soldiers he had been chosen for this mission and in return he would get Earth as his own personal murdering field. He had one crimson eye and one purple eye, his hands were lost as part of his punishment and were now replaced with mechanical augments and his remaining antenna was crooked and twitched often. Vem was a peculiar specimen, he was.

"Do not worry, my Tallest." Vem hissed, "I shall make sure these traitors to the Empire die mercilessly and painfully at my hands! You will not be disappointed with the results!" Vem saluted to no one in particular.

"I'm sure we won't." Purple's voice responded. "Just don't screw this up! Zim and Tak have been two defective thorns in our side for long enough and we don't want a repeat of what's happening on Boxvona because of them!" Red ordered. Vem assured them things were under control and ended the transmission.

He activated another disguise of a teenage human. Tall, Caucasian male with mismatched blue and green eyes and gloved hands. His hair was light brown, filthy and curly. His smile was crooked and scarred. His clothing was dark and ripped, laden with chains and various other decorations. When he walked into the open humans avoided him.

He'd done his research. Tak and Zim were outcasts on this planet, living with other outcasts. They'd hung out with various freaks and losers over the years and as such to blend in Vem would have to become an outcast as well. He was already applied at their skool, even though they only had two days left of it.

He grinned as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on to cover his eye defect. His disguise couldn't seem to get past the eye problem which was a constant nuisance to him back on Irk. Everyone knew who he was and what he did and his disguise couldn't mask it.

But Earth wasn't Irk.

…

Tak had felt like she was being watched all day. Not by her boyfriend's loving gaze or Gaz' occasional cold stare or even Zim's glaring. No, this was a meticulous, calculating, almost predatory watching. She'd felt it several times before on other worlds when she tagged along for hunting trips. The irony is that the prey often hunted you, such was the case when bands of Resisty members would ambush her.

She got sidetracked with her guilt over that. Fighting the Resisty for so many years and defecting to them. She'd talked to Dib about it, but Dib assured her the Resisty had forgiven her and that the Swollen Eyeballs would keep her secret and aide the Resisty.

The stare felt closer now. Tak noticed everyone else at her table was looking up at something behind her. Tak turned around and met the reflective glare of a pair of sunglasses and malicious, fanged smile. She almost vomited at the smell of decay on the man's breath as he greeted the group. She could feel the fear tensing up in everyone except Gaz.

This guy, Vernon as he called himself; he was bad news.

**Chapter 15 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, I made an OC not based on me, how do you like that? Homicidal Irken on a rampage is a dish best served cold!**


	16. Vernon, the Homicidal New Guy

No one felt comfortable around the new kid. Even Ms. Bitters avoided the child, but not out of fear; more like out of disgust. He always had that creepy grin and dark shades like he was hiding his thoughts. He talked in an odd style, like an officer-turned-rapist from some foreign, bleak world. Bleaker than anything either Tak or Zim with all their experiences combined could imagine.

In truth they weren't that far off. Vem, or Vernon as he had assumed his name under, was nothing more than an Irken prisoner from the bleakest world in all of the Irken Empire; Crematoria, the funeral and morgue world. It was mostly white but only because of the ash that kept falling. Vem had requested a transfer because he was so sick of the lack of company. All that was on Crematoria were bleak Irken employees and corpses to be burned! No holes were dug anymore; they merely spread the ashes until they formed a second crust of white film over the planet's surface.

Vem was a disfigured Irken, but only because of his crooked, jagged teeth and the mismatched eyes. He used to be normal, as short as Skoodge. He was a defective clone of the Vem, the Invader that had conquered Crematoria ages ago and was cloned and raised on that horrible rock. So he requested a transfer and got it under one condition: serve in the Irken military.

Needless to say his bleak personality transformed when he felt the joys of murder and mayhem, of carnage and chaos. Vem was renowned for his pure bloodlust and merciless attitude towards the enemy. There was an incident where he was ordered to burn down a shack where resistance members were hiding. They'd surrendered only moments before he was to burn them out and disgruntled Vem had burnt the shack down anyway, wounding the resistance members so they couldn't escape and would suffer a horrible demise.

He was a member of Operation Impending Doom I, but was severely wounded by Zim's rampage on Irk. He had lost a finger, ruptured his squeedily-spooch and his antenna. He hadn't been quite right since and disappeared from the Irken ranks after they had repaired most of the damage. He'd taken to the streets of Confectia and had started a murdering spree never before recorded in the entire history of the Empire.

It was a horrible rampage. No one was spared, not even shmeets. Vem was the secondary enemy to the Empire after Zim and was captured. Since there was no execution laws in the Empire and sending him into exile would be a stupid move, they just sent him to one of the Empire's prison worlds to die off in a cell sixty-thousand feet deep and infested with various slaughtering creatures.

When Boxvona had been liberated, the first world liberated in history and by the most feared warrior-turned-defector, the Tallest turned to the most infamous murderer ever. They promised him freedom and to have Earth as a killing grounds if he could just terminate the defector, the Resisty members and now Zim. Simple enough.

But Tak didn't know that. Dib and Gaz didn't know that. Zim didn't know that. And here was Vem, disguised as Vernon and sitting a mere arm's length away from his prey. His eyes twitched under the sunglasses. They were talking about some Technology Faire that was coming up in a few days. He listened patiently as he planned his move. So much dangerous equipment in one area, someone could get hurt in an accident. Or worse.

"So they had a plane fueled by water last year?" Tak asked Gaz who had been at the last Faire while Dib hadn't. "Yeah. It was kind of cool, I guess." Gaz shrugged. Zim laughed. "Water as a fuel source? Well finally it's good for something!" Dib snapped his fingers in remembrance.

"I almost forgot, Tak." He began, "I've been looking into a neutralizing agent for our different foods so we can eat the same meals without having negative reactions from…" Dib stopped and looked up at the eerie Vernon who sat there quietly and collected. "…Allergies." Dib lied. Vem's gaze shifted over to the window in the cafeteria where a large, red-eyed raven sat in wait for its master.

After school Tak made her friends walk at a distancing pace from Vernon who seemed to be following them. She walked around several street corners until she was sure they had lost him.

"Tak, what's the big idea?" Dib asked his frightened girlfriend. "It's that Vernon kid… He's not right." Tak commented. "Wow, and I thought Dib was paranoid." Gaz stated. "I don't really like him either, but that doesn't mean we should act afraid of him." Dib said. Tak looked him in the eyes. "Who's acting?" She asked, admitting her fear.

"Tak, I am ashamed! An Irken should never know fear!" Zim said. Tak glared at him. "Only an idiot would not fear. You know that as well as I do." She explained. "Look, today was the last day of skool! EVER! Can't we just go to the graduation party Zita invited us to and forget about Vem?" Dib offered to the group, trying to forget about the creepy man.

Tak sighed. She was acting a little paranoid; she'd actually forgotten today was the last day of senior year! They were free from the pitiful Earth skool forever! Unless they chose to further their educations, which was unlikely considering their genius and prodigy stature. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives and they should be living it at the graduation party! Tak might not have like the skoolchildren or the food and drinks of this world, but there was something about the parties she enjoyed.

"You are right, Dib-drone." Zim agreed, "We should celebrate the graduation from that horrible stink-pit they dared to claim as a place of education!" Zim finished with a hiss. Gaz shrugged agreement. "As long as we don't have to sit in this alley discussing that creep anymore, I'm ok with it." Dib exclaimed 'Excellent' and the group moved on towards the city's recreational center where the party was too be held.

A few thousand feet above them a crimson-eyed raven's optics whirred mechanically and it descended from its lofty station. It had recorded everything of interest from the outcasts and was returning to its master.

Vem happily accepted the raven onto his arm and listened to its report. "The targets are heading for the recreational center for a graduation party, my master!" The raven declared. Vem still had the crooked grin on his face, but it widened slightly. He had been to parties before. They were usually dark and crowded. People could get lost or trip and hurt themselves. Or worse.

"Let's go celebrate our graduation, shall we?" Vem asked his SIR in disguise.

…

Night was falling on the party and the recreational center was packed. Tak, Dib, Gaz and Zim weren't even insulted as they walked in. In fact they were greeted by Zita and Larz. "Hey, glad you guys could make it!" Zita waved at them. "Well, we wouldn't miss anything celebrating our last year in high school." Dib laughed lightly.

The group had gotten to the snack table and Tak was grateful they had Red Vines. They hadn't noticed Vernon sneak into the party, or the raven on his shoulder. There appeared to be an invisible barrier between him and groups of people as they tried to avoid him.

Vem placed himself out of view from everyone at the party and hid behind the DJ speaker systems. He placed a pair of Irken soundproof headphones over where his ears would be and plugged his SIR into the speakers. "Now just to alter the decibels to a frequency my Irken ilk can't stand, and—Eureka!" Vem said to himself.

The music continued with a slightly different pitch that no one noticed. Tak and Zim immediately grabbed their heads. Tak's disguise flickered slightly but she kept control. Green blood filled her mouth at how hard she was biting her lip in pain. Zim was having similar problems. Only Dib, Gaz and Zita seemed to notice. Larz was busy scratching the back of his neck sporadically. Apparently the frequency made Saurians very itchy.

"Argh!" Tak let out in exasperation. Dib picked her up as Gaz picked Zim up. She felt lighter as Dib's arms slipped under hers. The bleeding was worse than just a knick of the lips; Zim had actually coughed up a small wad of blood. Tak felt her disguise flicker again but regained control.

MiMi and Gir watched their masters in pain as their human companions tried to help them. "Someone's hurting the Mistress!" MiMi stated in her electronic duplicate of Tak's own voice. "And my Master, too! Who'd do that?" Gir asked, turning to his feline companion. MiMi scanned the room. There was a life form that didn't quite match up with the others.

MiMi hissed and charged the speakers, carefully avoiding the other partygoers. Vem saw his SIR squawk rather than heard it. He turned to see a black, horned cat lash out at him. He felt his sunglasses pull away as metallic claws pierced both holographic and real flesh. Vem let out a howl of pain while falling backwards. Gir was behind him. "Oooo, what you listenin' to?" The green dog asked before removing the protective headphones.

Vem suppressed another howl of pain as he felt his audio receptors bleed. The frequency was crippling him as he coughed up green blood. He ordered the SIR to cut the frequency. The raven unhooked itself from the speakers and retrieved its master's sunglasses. Vem placed them back onto his lacerated face and slinked towards the exit before MiMi could attack again.

MiMi struck out but was blocked by the SIR. Both the raven and his master fled the recreational center before any of the others noticed. MiMi was about to pursue when Gir distracted her. "Lookie, I'm a X-men!" Gir said while dancing with the headset leaning forward, the headband covering his eyes like a visor. MiMi let out an electronic giggle.

The SIRs quickly returned to their masters' aide. "Mistress, are you alright?" MiMi asked Tak. Tak held her head and nodded. She was ok now but she had a splitting headache. "Master, did you throw up green milk?" Gir asked Zim. Zim looked at the blood on his shirt. "No Gir. No I didn't." Zim replied without much enthusiasm.

The group left the recreational center. Thankfully, only Zita and Larz noticed what had been going on so they weren't followed or questioned. They had to clean up at Zim's base.

…

Vem was cleaning his cuts. He'd secretly 'inherited' the remains of Tak's base and was grumbling to himself over his failed attempt. Not only that, but now his cover was probably gone. Time to switch disguises. Vem was scrolling through a selection of disguises. He found several that were eerily similar to people he knew.

Vem began laughing evilly as plans and plots formed in his head. They'd suffer, oh they'd suffer.

**Chapter 16 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, Vem's turning out to be a clever one, isn't he? The prick…**


	17. Tak saves Gaz

The next day was Graduation Ceremony. Even Dib and Gaz' dad showed up, which wasn't too surprising. He'd planned the day several years in advance.

"So, kids! Are you going to the Technology Faire tomorrow?" Professor Membrane asked his two children. Gaz was always softer around her father and was actually smiling. "Yeah, Dad. I always go, remember?" Gaz asked. Professor Membrane gave her a little hug. "Of course you do; that's my little science girl!" He said.

Membrane turned to Dib. "And what about you, son?" He asked. Dib smiled. "Yeah Dad, I'll make it this year. I'm even bringing my girlfriend." Dib beamed. Membrane raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?" He asked with genuine surprise. Dib gave a gesture to an indigo-haired, pale and fair-skinned beauty a few feet away who was in the same dark blue graduation garbs as Dib and Gaz.

Membrane let out a sharp whistle. "Well, son, she is very pretty. And she picked you?" Membrane asked jokingly. That was a first. Professor Membrane was actually playing around with his son. Dib softly punched him in the arm for the comment. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Membrane chuckled lightly.

Tak joined her boyfriend with his father. "So, I'm just going to ask a few questions that may seem a little… Odd." Membrane began. Dib's colour faded. It was the old embarrassing parent question thing. Of all the times for his father to be there for him, why now? "Have you two engaged in any sort of intercourse asides from kissing, hugging, groping or snuggling?" Membrane asked. Tak blushed as her mouth went slack and Dib merely turned bright red and hid his face in his hands.

"Well, you know… Maybe only a little…" Tak rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Excellent!" Membrane exclaimed, "That's something normal teenagers do. Ok, next question and this one has nothing to do with normality. It's sort of personal." Membrane warned. "And the sex question wasn't?" Dib asked in disbelief. "Are you two planning on getting married?" Membrane asked.

There was an awkward silence over the group. Neither of them had thought about that. Tak was never one for titles or certifying a relationship and Dib had never thought it was that big of a deal. "Well, why should we get married? It seems a little clichéd…" Dib was muttering, "I mean, it's not that I don't want to, it just seems a little… overdone." Membrane raised an eyebrow. "Besides be a little overdone, why not?" Membrane asked his son. Dib couldn't see why not.

"It's a difference in beliefs." Tak explained. She wasn't lying, but she did stay completely vague in her description. "Oh… What was your name again?" Membrane rubbed the high collar of his coat as he asked Tak. "Oh, it's Tak… um…" Tak looked around nervously for an answer, "Zimmerman?" She answered questioningly. Membrane whistled. "German heritage. The Membranes have a little of that, too. Why I remember my great-grandfather helped design chlorine gas." Membrane explained. Dib gaped. "We worked for the Kaiser?" He asked in disbelief. His father let out a burst of laughter. "Well, duh! Who were we supposed to work for? The English? Too British. The Americans? Too far away. The Russians? We have bad history there." Membrane explained. Dib raised an eyebrow but didn't feel like asking.

"Anyway, Tak Zimmerman-Membrane… I like the sound of that." Membrane rubbed his chin contemplatively. He walked off to be introduced to Gaz' boyfriend. Dib let out an embarrassed grumble as Tak rubbed his back gently.

"Actually, Tak Zimmerman-Membrane doesn't sound too bad at all." Tak tapped her chin in admiration, grinning at how it rolled out of her mouth. "Huh. Yeah, it does sound pretty nice, doesn't it?" Dib asked his girlfriend. Marriages were cliché, but he would make an exception for her.

Membrane was now embarrassing Gaz and Zim. "So, you're the Zim person my son is always talking about." Membrane said. "Indeed. I am ZIM!" Zim raised his fists in the air, the sleeves of his robe dropping around his elbows. "I don't know if I like the idea of my daughter dating someone that's three years older than her…" Membrane said. "Dad. I'm 16, he's 18. Two years, not three." Gaz corrected. "Oh yes. Well, that is much more acceptable!" Membrane cheered.

"Now I ask, have you two…" Membrane began but Gaz raised her hand. "Dad, don't even bother asking. Zim and I have been dating for two years and we haven't even kissed yet." Gaz stated. Membrane almost looked relieved. "What a relief! I had a spark of paternal instinct to beat this child to a pulp if he so much as touched you, but to hear that the two of you are taking things so steady is such a relief!" Membrane laughed heartily.

"Anyways, I've got to get back to my lab to finish my project for the Faire tomorrow. I'll see you then, little Gaz! You too, son!" Membrane waved them off before being escorted to his car by a cadre of security officers.

"Oh man, that was embarrassing." Dib slapped his forehead. "Oh, it wasn't that bad." Tak lied. "Your father asks a lot of questions, Gaz-flower. Still, he is a man worthy of respect for all he's accomplished!" Zim stated. "Yeah, he's a pretty good dad, I guess." Gaz smiled.

"Anyway, Gaz-flower, why haven't we ever kissed? Asides from the obvious that it is disgusting and an Earth-monkey tradition?" Zim asked. Gaz thought about it. "Well, you think it's disgusting and I'm not going to be the one to start trading spit with an alien. That's more of my stupid brother's thing." She replied. "Hey!" Dib shouted out, offended.

MiMi was on alert for the saboteur from the graduation party. She had memorized his face but couldn't find him in the crowd. She meant to inform her mistress, but she kept getting distracted by Gir who was now rolling in a puddle of mud. MiMi giggled electronically at the spastic green pup.

…

Vem was in disguise as a carnie at the ceremony, waiting for his opportunity. There was still an invisible barrier of people avoiding him because of his eerie presence and creepy smile. He finally saw his chance when he saw Dib and Tak leave the rest of the group and then separate when Dib needed to use the bathroom. He grinned as his form shivered in the shadows and he approached a waiting Tak.

"Hello, Tak." Vem hissed the name out and continued his glare. Tak's eyes widened with shock at the voice but leveled out with the face. "Oh, hey Dib. Done already?" Tak asked the disguised Vem. "Yeah…" Vem answered slyly. "Where'd you get the shades?" Tak asked, referring to the sunglasses. "I carried them in my coat pocket in case it got too bright." Vem responded with his prepared answer. Tak raised an eyebrow as she looked up at the cloudy sky. "Ok then…" She shrugged.

"Let's go hold hands by that precariously-placed rock." Vem pointed at a large rock sitting on a ledge a few yards away. There was a familiar crimson-eyed raven sitting on the rock. "I guess so. We could just hold hands here." Tak suggested. Vem almost growled. "But neither of us like these pitiful humans, er, skoolchildren." Vem corrected. Tak raised an eyebrow again. "You're acting pretty weird, you know that?" She asked.

Dib returned, wiping his hands on a paper towel before throwing it away. "Hey Tak, I'm back and…" His words faded as he saw a shaded double with Tak. Vem's smirk faded as Tak turned to him. "Who are you?" Tak growled threateningly. Vem gulped with genuine fear before regaining his murderous charm. He reverted back to his old Vernon disguise, listening to the satisfying gasp of Tak and Dib, before launching his spider legs from his PAK. He'd made alterations to these legs, sharpening them into bladelike instruments of mutilation.

Tak dodged the series of strikes, ditching her robes in the process, and made a well-placed jab at Vem's chest, just below the sternum. Vernon howled and backed off. "Oh, my squeedily-spooch!" Vem growled as his legs returned to the PAK and he disappeared into the crowd.

Tak turned back to a stunned Dib. "Dib, we've got to get the others together and tell them what's going on. Dib looked around at the other patrons who had all been chatting with relatives the entire time. "How did none of them see that?" Dib seethed. "Another time, Dib! We've got to warn the others!" Tak grabbed Dib's hand and led him through the crowd of people in the direction they'd headed from.

…

"This is a glorious victory for Zim! Now, I am finally rid of this infernal skool, once and for all! Victory for ZIM!" Zim began cackling. Gaz rolled her eyes but stopped to see her stupid brother heading her way. "What do you want Dib?" She asked before opening an eye at him, "Are you wearing sunglasses?" She asked.

Vem smirked his crooked smile at the pair. "I haven't quite forgiven you for your wounds, Zim. They haunt me even to this day." Vem was referring to his lost antennae seeing as how his wounded hands were removed as punishment. "I, um… Apologize for the wounds of our past battles?" Zim offered. "Not yet you're not." Vem grinned viciously.

An Irken anti-material rocket appeared out of his PAK and was perched on his shoulder, looking like an RPG he'd pulled from hammer space. "Goodbye, defect!" Vem began cackling. He pulled the trigger, but as the rocket fired he felt himself falling backwards from some force and watched the rocket spiral off into the sky in a daze.

Vem was quickly pulled off of his ass, the rocket launcher still sticking out of his PAK. Gaz was glaring open-eyed at him and holding him by his collar. "I thought you got over this obsession, Dib! And where'd you get a rocket…" Gaz trailed off as she looked her brother in the eyes. One of the lenses had popped off and she noticed his eye colour was blue-grey, not brown.

Vem felt himself fly backwards and felt the weight of the launcher fall of with a snap as he hit the ground once, twice and then came to a stop. He looked up and noticed they were drawing a crowd. "You're not my brother." Gaz stated simply. Zim let out a 'heh?' before looking back at the creepier Dib.

Vem growled as his PAK sprouted bladed legs once more. People gasped in contemplative speculation as he raised the legs high. It was high time people noticed, it was just a shame no one could do anything. Vem let the legs come down with the speed and force of a sledgehammer in a deadly arc at the Gaz-human and the defect.

Nothing happened.

Vem's eyes popped open from behind his shades as he looked up at what remained of his bladed legs. He gasped as he realized they'd been severed and he looked around for the culprit. An indigo-haired human with the appearance of Johnny C was a few feet away, wielding some piece of custom Irken engineering Vem had yet to see; a blade of pure energy.

Tak turned with the blade, twirling it in her hands as she looked at the severed spider legs of Vem's PAK. She smirked at her ingenious invention and the films that inspired such a weapon. Most of all she smirked at the look of shock and surprise on the Dib-doppelganger's face and how it contrasted with the surprise and awe of the real Dib's, Zim's and even Gaz' faces.

Vem retracted his broken legs and activated the shielding on his robotic arms. They hummed to life as the disguising hologram around them faded. They looked like bulky and clawed sets of mandibles, glowing with a purple aura. Vem smirked as he made a 'bring it on' gesture at Tak, who returned the smirk and charged.

Needless to say the augment's shields could deflect the blade with ease and Vem was a very capable hand-to-hand fighter. Tak had only just begun training in sword combat and was using a mix of saber, katana and rapier moves as well as any bits of sword combat she'd seen from films. Larz and Zita were in the large group that was surrounding the duo.

Tak made a jab for Vem and the two immediately engaged in a chain of counters and strikes that led to strange stance with Tak holding Vem's arm in one hand while he held the energy blade with his other. They were mere inches away from each other. "Who are you and why are you attacking us?" Tak hissed. She knew he was Irken. That much was obvious from the training, the PAK, the disguise and the organs. "I'm your worst nightmare, defector!" Vem spat back. His remaining lower PAK legs quickly sprout out to support his weight as he lifted himself up and thrust his legs out, knocking Tak several yards away from him.

He eyed the others. Dib was the most capable fighter after Tak, but Gaz had power and her destruction assured the breaking in spirit for both Dib and Zim. He grinned maliciously and ordered his SIR to attack Gaz. The raven darted from the heavens, changing from crimson-eyed raven to robotic minion midair. The remaining thousand feet the SIR prepared a powerful punch and it cut through those thousand feet in a split-second. Gaz, even with all her reflexes, couldn't move out of the way. Dib was too far away to help and Zim was still overly-stunned at all that had just taken place.

But she didn't have to move. Vem's sunglasses nearly dropped from his face at the sight he'd just witnessed. His SIR fell to either side of the Gaz-human, cut in half and superheated along its edges. Tak stood in front of Gaz, her breath heavy at how she exerted her energy to quickly get in front of the blow. Her grip loosened around the hilt of the energy blade as she began to relax.

Both Dib and Zim were in awe and Gaz was wide-eyed at her near-demise. Vem merely looked on in shock as the others around them sat in silence. "Fuck." Vem cursed before jumping into the air on his remaining PAK legs and disappearing with a cloaked wave of his hand.

Tak deactivated the blade helped Gaz up off the ground. She'd fallen backwards when Tak suddenly appeared in front of her and was just now noticing it. Dib saw the PAK legs explode and heard a dark, electronic chuckled from the remains of the SIR unit. "Goodbye, defects." The SIR let out before Tak noticed a high pitch sound coming from it. She threw Gaz to Zim and both of them ducked out of way of the ensuing explosion.

After the debris cleared Gir and MiMi watched their masters recover as the crowds began a panic from the explosions. "Bye bye birdie!" Gir waved at the smoking wreckage of what used to be a SIR.

Tak and Zim grabbed their defective robots and made for the exit with their human lovers in the cover of the chaos. Larz and Zita pursued worryingly.

Tak glared back at the wreckage. Who the hell was this guy?

**Chapter 17 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, Vem's a tricky S.O.B., isn't he? And Tak's got a lightsaber! Who knew?**


	18. Security Plans and Sinister Plots

"I still can't believe you have a lightsaber." Dib commented as he put on his coat after shedding the robes. Tak would have usually giggled or at the very least smiled at her boyfriend's attitude and outlook on the subject but she was preoccupied with the matter at hand. She made sure Zim's base was secure before turning back to her compatriots.

"Zim, did you recognize that person at all?" Tak asked her fellow Irken. "All I could tell was that it was some evil Dib-drone-clone." Zim shrugged. Larz shook his head. "No, that was some highly-skilled Irken warrior in disguise." Larz commented. Tak nodded in agreement. "He's right, but which one? I had a difficult time fighting him and there's not many Irkens who can handle me and none of them are in this quadrant let alone this sector." Tak was thinking aloud.

"Seriously, how long have you had a lightsaber?" Dib asked again. Tak sighed. "I began building one after I thought how cool it would be to have a sword in battle. Sad thing is, swords suck in today's wars, so I needed an energy blade." Tak lowered her eyelids at Zim and Gaz' snickering. "It's Dib's fault for getting me into those stupid _Star Wars_ movies!" Tak growled at them. Dib gave a two-fingered victory sign for getting Tak hooked on Earth movies.

"There's not even any evidence to study." Zita noted. The legs and SIR had been destroyed and their ashes dispersed by the ensuing panic. "All we can hope for is that he won't attack again now that he's lost his minion and an irreplaceable weapon." Larz offered. "No, PAK legs can be repaired." Zim countered. Larz tsked at this new information.

"We can do something better than hope." Tak began, "We can be prepared." She went over to her cruiser and opened a compartment. Inside were a series of compact, emergency pistols of some sort. "These each have ten, highly volatile and almost explosive rounds of energy. The energy setting can be lowered so the blasts are lower powered and more numerous or high powered single-shot slugs." Tak explained as she distributed to her boyfriend, Gaz, Zim and even Larz and Zita.

"We can hide them on our persons and if this Vernon character, whoever he really is, attacks us all we have to do his fire a shot into him and he won't bother us ever again." Tak explained. Dib held the pistol in his hand with mixed emotions. It was a weapon. He'd never been sure how to feel about weapons. It was meant only for self-defense, but it had the power of the gods; the ability to rob life from anyone. Let's just say Dib held life in high regards, even the life of a homicidal alien.

Gaz shoved the pistol in her backpack and left the group. She'd rather watch television while they discussed preparations. Zim followed her up the elevator and to the couch in his living room. She was watching television while Dib stood in the doorway.

"Pretty frightening ordeal, wasn't it?" Zim asked quietly. Gaz opened an eye at him and sighed. "I guess it was a little." She admitted, "Have you ever seen your entire life flash before your eyes and not liked what you saw?" Gaz asked. Zim whistled. "Never. I've seen my life flash a few times, but never regretted it. I've made glorious decisions! But this isn't about me, this is about you. How are you holding up, Gaz-flower?" Zim asked.

Gaz-flower. That made Gaz smile almost every time she heard it. She had yet to even pick a pet name for Zim and neither of them had done much more than hold hands and rarely talked on a deep level. "I'm doing ok. It's not so much the fact I nearly died, but the fact I haven't done much in life. Zim, in the time you've known me, what have I accomplished?" Gaz asked.

Zim thought about it. "Besides playing those pig-slaying video games?" He asked. Gaz nodded. Zim put a hand to his chin in contemplation. He was out of disguise like Tak and Gaz saw his antennae twitch in deep thought. She grimaced. Deep thought over what she'd done in life; that was a bad sign.

"Well, you've saved your brother numerous times and consequently saved this wretched ball of dirt as well." Zim contemplated if that was good or not. "But now Dib isn't fighting you anymore. What else is there?" Gaz asked.

"You've begun dating me." Zim said simply.

Gaz looked up. She couldn't tell if Zim was being straightforward and egomaniacal, implying she was dating a 'glorious invader' and should feel honoured or if he was being poetic and cryptic, implying she gave Zim meaning besides invasion and thus she had meaning to someone else. It was difficult to decipher from his tone.

"What do you mean?" Gaz worded her question cautiously but somehow Zim caught on. "Do you think Zim to be that unemotional, that selfish?" Zim asked, hurt. "Well, you did throw several of your own squadmates into harm's way to save yourself back on Hobo 13…" Gaz retorted. Zim growled a little. "Those were squadmates! They were inferior to me and you!"

Gaz smirked and looked at Zim. "Are you saying I'm superior to you?" Gaz asked. Zim's antennae dropped and his eyes went wide. He didn't know the answer to that. "Gaz-flower…" Zim rubbed the back of his head. Gaz sighed and looked away slightly. She should have known his ego would be too large for him to admit anyone was superior to him.

Zim scowled at his cowardice. He had been too overcome with surprise to rescue her at the ceremony and was now to cowardly to even admitting simple emotions to her. Zim was trying to figure out which was worse: love or cowardice. He stepped closer to Gaz and scooped her up in his arms. He'd seen enough of the cheesy Earth romance movies to know how to coherently form some amount of love-confession.

Gaz' eyes shot open in surprise and hers met Zim's own scarlet orbs. "Gaz-flower, you are superior to me in every way." Zim began, flatly, "You are more powerful, more commanding, more intimidating, more ravishing! Your intelligence easily exceeds anyone's on this planet and half of the Irkens I know! Your darkness snuffs my very destructive glow!" Zim was pouring his soul into this. "In short, you are superior to me in that, besides the obvious, you have stolen the heart of an Invader, conquered the spirit of a conqueror, hypnotized, enticed, and snared my very soul! Gaz-flower, I… I love you." Zim finished and pulled the slack-mouthed Gaz into a warm kiss.

A few seconds later, after Gaz' eyes shot open again and she realized she was returning both the kiss and the embrace she forcibly pushed Zim away from her, sending him over the coffee table. "Oof!" Zim let out as he fell. Gaz was gasping for breath, her eyes wide as she contemplated what had just happened. Zim had just shown loving emotion in degrees she couldn't even imagine him displaying it in. He also thought so highly of her. This definitely answered her question as to whether Zim was committed or not.

Now Zim was recovering, rubbing his head. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of boots. He gulped as he followed the stocking-legs to the purple one-piece and skull necklace. He looked into the glare of his fang-haired beauty and couldn't read the expression. That was what caused the most fear.

"You stole my first kiss, Zim." Gaz seemingly seethed. Zim closed his eyes as he felt a firm grip hoist him up by his collars. His eyes popped open again as he felt Gaz' lips against his own. They stood there for nearly fifteen minutes catching up on two years of kissing before Dib and the others walked in.

"Gah! Dib-drone!" Zim broke the kiss awkwardly, his cheeks a dark green hue. Gaz let out a disgruntled sigh. Leave it to Dib to interrupt her happy moments. "Yes Dib?" Gaz asked in a huff of irritation. "Um… How long have you two been doing that?" Dib asked, queasy. "15 minutes, why?" Zim asked. Dib waved his hand. "Never mind."

"Anyway, we're going to stay here at Zim's base." Tak said, "Zita's saying she's spending the night with me and Dib's going to tell your dad that the two of you are staying here for the night as part of a study group." Gaz nodded acknowledgement as Zim let out a grumble that he hadn't been informed about them all staying at his base, but he didn't argue.

"We're going to the Technology Faire tomorrow. If Vem tries to bother us there, we'll just fry him." Tak twirled the compact Irken weapon in her hand before holstering it. It looked like a stumpy super soaker. Gaz and Zim nodded agreement and tapped where they had hidden their blasters; Zim's in his PAK and Gaz' in her backpack.

"Anyway, let's get some sleep. Zim, are you sure the defense systems are good enough?" Dib asked, referring to the times he'd managed to break in. "Yes, yes Dib-drone! I told you, we've been perfecting the systems for the past three months! They're bound to keep any unwanted visitors out!" Zim argued, annoyed that Dib kept questioning his defense grid.

"Well, let's try to settle in." Tak suggested, showing Dib, Gaz, Larz and Zita to the guest rooms.

…

Vem was busy replacing his PAK legs when the temporary communicator relay he had set up in the base began ringing. "Argh, Computer! Who is that?" Vem asked. His face still had dark green lacerations and he felt Tak's blow might have opened his old squeedily-spooch wound.

"It's the Tallest, Master." The computer stated in a dark, metallic tone. "Again? Let me guess; progress report?" Vem asked. "Correct, Sir." Vem wheezed out a furious sigh. "Bring them onscreen." Vem ordered reluctantly. Instantly an image of Tallest Purple and Red filled the screen of the communicator.

"Wow, Vem… You, uh… don't look so hot." Purple coughed. Both the Tallest were slightly taller but were suffering from the fatigues of leadership. As more issues flowed in, even after they ignored so many, they were still exasperated and had dark circles outlining their eyes as evidence. The lack of sleep didn't help their attitudes or resentment for their own breed either.

"Well, my Tallest, pardon me for not cleaning up directly after a mishap." Vem hissed, "That Tak-defect is an intriguing one; ingenious even. Did you know she's perfected a blade of pure energy?" Vem asked. Red raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "You mean like a power sword?" He asked. Vem shook his head. "Not a blade humming with energy; a blade of PURE energy." He explained. Both of the Tallest's eyes widened.

"So, Tak is a formidable one." Red stated blandly, "Just kill her, the Saurian, the large-headed boy and Zim." "And bring me back one of those energy swords." Purple added. The transmission ended.

"Idiotic Tallest. Do they not see the might of the Tak-defect? Computer, I think I might be in love." Vem smirked. "Love is a pointless emotion." The computer retorted. "True, but life is pointless as well. For all I know it could be lust. I don't really care." Vem was devising sinister plans. "I'll murder her mate before her very eyes and then have her. Won't that be glorious?" Vem was talking to himself, but the computer was listening.

"You're sick." The computer stated in genuine, although mechanical, disgust.

"Thank you." Vem cackled.

**Chapter 18 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, Vem gets more and more disturbed with each chapter and the others prepare to fight against it.**


	19. Training at Night

Gaz snuck out of the cramped confines of her guest room to find Zim's room. She had overheard Dib sneaking into Tak's and Zita to Larz's.

She snuck down the dark hallway. She passed several portraits and statues of monkeys. Gaz wondered if he decorated his home this way to reflect what he thought of humans or some other reason.

She had some trouble finding Zim's room and gagged as she heard odd noises coming from Tak's room. She doubted they were actually up to anything to serious, but the mere idea disgusted her. She finally found Zim's room at some far end of the house behind the kitchen. She gently opened the door and saw Zim asleep on his bed. The blankets were strewn everywhere from his spastic sleep but Gir sat comfortably at his feet, asleep. Even out of disguise Gir slept like a dog curled up at its master's feet.

Gaz stood there for a moment analyzing Zim. His antennae were twitching to some dream and his snoring was almost in sync with the antennae. Zim hadn't changed much except that he was taller. She noticed he was a skinny thing, lanky like her brother but also fit like her brother. The two of them fighting back and forth must have toned them in some degree, except where her brother was covered in scars and serious injuries by Zim, Zim was covered in small scars and scratches and these were usually inflicted from his own hand.

Gaz smirked. Zim was an idiot, her idiot, but an idiot all the same. Then she shivered. It was cold in his base, even in this false room Zim had taken to sleeping in. She stepped closer to Zim's bedside and laid down next to him, cuddling him for warmth. Zim's eyes shot open as he realized he was being hugged from behind and he noticed the sheets were back over him. He smiled lightly. "I assume that is the precious Gaz-flower seeing as Tak would've thrown me out of bed and the Dib-drone might have dissected me." He deduced.

Gaz curled up closer to Zim and placed her head on his. "Shut up. Your stupid voice is ruining the moment." Gaz stated in her unemotional tone. And then both of them were warm. Zim lulled back to sleep as he grew accustomed to Gaz lying next to him, her head on his neck. Gaz fell asleep as well as she noticed that Zim was fairly soft, almost plushy if it weren't for the bones.

And they were asleep.

…

A few moments before Gaz had snuck out of her room Dib had snuck out of his and made it for Tak's room. He rapped the door gently and it was opened by the blue-eyed MiMi. She'd had those blue eyes ever since her reprogramming and it gave her a softer appearance. She was still terrifying, she was just less terrifying.

"Mistress Tak, it's the big-headed boy -er- Dib." MiMi called back to Tak gently, her Gir-programming overriding the SIR-programming for a moment. Tak was twirling two of her energy blades trying to perfect some dual-wield saber effect. "Come on in, Dib." She offered. Dib entered and closed the door.

Dib chuckled lightly. "You really liked those movies, didn't you?" He asked. Tak returned the laugh. "Yeah, they were pretty good. Who was your favourite character?" Tak asked. Dib shrugged. "Luke, I guess." He said. Tak nodded. "Yeah, you two seem alike. Facing an Empire of which someone you love is a member but you feel they don't have to be a member; fighting for what's right and good in the universe." Tak summarized the similarities.

"Who was your favourite?" Dib asked in return. Tak shrugged. "I could never decide between Darth Maul, General Grievous or either of the Fetts." She answered. Dib laughed. "All dark, lethal and badass." He commented. Tak stopped her saber training in mock anger. "Hey! I was poetic with my analysis of you and Luke; you could return the favour!" She stuck her tongue out.

Dib tapped his chin thinking of a good way to phrase the similarities. "Quiet and contemplative like Darth Maul, military strategist and mechanical genius like General Grievous and mysterious and badass like Boba Fett and his father, Jango." Dib had been taking steps closer with each addition until he was face to face with Tak. "They're also amazing martial artists but couldn't stand up to you." Dib leaned forward and placed a kiss on Tak's lips. "Now that's more like it." Tak said, tapping Dib's nose.

She took a few steps back and tossed Dib one of her energy blades. He noticed the hilt was like that of a broadsword rather than the tubes of _Star Wars_. "Let's spar." She suggested, "Their power levels have been lowered so we shouldn't get hurt." Dib raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't?" He asked, his girlfriend shrugging in response.

He entered a defensive stance and Tak immediately charged. They danced rather than actually fought, dodging each other's strikes and twirling excessively. If Gaz had seen the display she might have laughed.

Finally the pair was getting serious as adrenaline poured through their bodies and they began sweating. They charged each other with the blades, grabbing each other's wrists half in an attempt to block a strike and half just to catch a breath. Their heads were resting against each other's.

Tak reached forward with her tongue and took a tiny lick of Dib's cheek. She smiled slightly at the salty flavour. Dib did the same and smiled at the sweet flavour. How odd their species physiologies were; so matched up and yet so different chemically. They released each other's wrists and pushed off of each other, returning to their defense stances.

"You're pretty decent for someone who's never played with knives." Tak said. "Well, I know my way around a dissection table." Dib countered. "Ooo, that one was nice." "Thank you, I used it on Zim once."

The two charged and entered into another barrage of energy strikes and dodges. Tak struck Dib in the chest with the blade and Dib fell over from the shock. "You alright?" Tak asked. Dib fidgeted for a second. "Yeah. That was a pretty strong shock, but I've felt worse." He said as he got back up. "Maybe we should take a breather." Tak suggested as their adrenaline died down. "Or get some sleep." Dib added, suddenly tired.

The two laid down in bed, cuddled up together for warmth and feel asleep happily.

…

Vem still couldn't figure out where Zim's base was, or the human or Saurian's. He lacked his SIR and was running out of Irken tech that he had brought with him.

Vem approached his weapon stash which lay on a wall in his inherited base. There was a collection of deadly Irken weapons from powered blades of various shapes and sizes to carbines and pistols that fired solid slugs, lasers and explosive/chemical shells. There were rockets and launchers, mortars, even bombs. He didn't want to waste too much of this on his targets because he was hoping to savor using it on the humans when he took the world but he needed something new.

Vem took up one of the more compact carbines. It was one-and-a-half feet long and made of purplish, bubbly composite material just like every thing else on Irk. It looked like a rounded box with a ringed cone at one end and a simple skeleton stock at the other with a trigger near it. It was a good weapon and it looked like a cheap toy so no one on this planet would feel threatened by it.

Vem tapped the loader button, a small black circle on the side, and the rounded box opened to the sides on the bottom. He then placed a cylinder with yellow-and-black caution tape around it and glowing blue into the opening until he heard a soft click. The box closed automatically.

After selecting a power setting Vem hefted the rifle into a firing stance. "Computer, activate a target drone for me so I can get the sites right." Vem ordered. A small spherical robot flew out of nowhere and into the corridor. Vem pulled the trigger and felt the bolt of energy flare out of the weapon, hearing the vacuum created by the blast fill back up with a distinct crack as the beam travelled down towards the target.

The target was literally vaporized. Vem let his crooked teeth form his familiar jagged smile again at his handiwork. "I still got it." He tapped the carbine, "Let's see if they have anything like this at the Technology Faire tomorrow."

Vem laughed viciously into the cold and lonely depths of his ruinous base.

**Chapter 19 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, I am continuing to explore the ZaGr and DaTr, even a little bit of the GaMr. Not to into the Zita and Lizard Boy, though.**


	20. Death of a Diety

**Well, this chapter is coming in a little later than normal for several reasons. First off, I got the Father's Day gift I ordered for my dad and am building it. The other reason is my computer (either internet or virus) has made it impossible to do a lot of things; one thing that really bugs me is how I can't get onto Fan Fiction to reply to your reviews anymore **** So, I'm just going to reply as soon as I can. I hope this explanation answers any questions.**

**WARNING: Character Death Inside.**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

Gaz exited the temporarily set-up cramped shower. The water had been cold and the pressure sucked, but both she and her brother were clean. She grabbed Dib and Zim by the collars. "Dib, did you use up the hot water and pressure?" She asked her brother. "No! It sucked when I was in there, too!" Dib replied. Gaz released him.

"So it's you're fault." Gaz stated at Zim. "Where was I supposed to get a water heater and pressure system?" Zim demanded. He pointed his finger accusingly at Tak. "She's the one who decided we'd all stay at my under-equipped base!" He stated. Gaz lifted an eyelid at her. "Hey, let's not go around blaming each other!" Tak growled at Zim, "We're going to miss the opening of the Technology Faire."

The others nodded in agreement and got dressed. Zita and Larz hadn't really enjoyed their cold showers either, especially not the cold-blooded Saurian. Ice-water and cold blood don't mix well.

They left Zim's base and were happily warmed by the summer sun. The Faire was across town and there was only Larz's car to take. "Dib, you really need a car." Gaz informed her brother. Dib sighed. He was going to purchase Bill's old sedan from the dealership. The thing was awesomely complex but at such a price Dib was having a difficult time to save up for it.

They packed themselves into the car. It was a rather spacey car, just not spacey enough to accommodate six people comfortably with two robotic pets.

The car pulled away from Zim's base and headed towards the center of the city where nearly all other cars were heading. This year's Faire was gonna be a doozy.

…

Vem had managed to procure a junk yard car and he had used his engineering prowess, a trait many Irkens shared, to enhance the vehicle. It looked like a worn out Camaro, but under the miss-match painted metal were armour plates and Irken impact-resisters and inertia cancellers. Under the hood was and Irken ion engine that required little fuel and got great mileage. There were even Irken rocket pods hidden in several locations and a small cache of weapons aboard.

He drove as the Earth-laws permitted, but hated being so mild. He wished he could just begin his slaughter already, but he could do little more but grit his teeth in irritation. Finally he saw the Faire. It was easy enough to find considering everybody was heading there since the one thing the city could unite upon was their fondness, almost worship, of Professor Membrane.

Vem tapped his hologram-cheek in thought. He'd seen the big-headed Resisty member with the Tak-defect and heard his name; Dib. The scythe-hair of the Dib-human seemed eerily similar to the Membrane-human's. Vem looked at the carbine resting in the passenger seat next to him. The Membrane-human would be heavily guarded, but their defenses were useless against his weaponry, meaning a quick assassination would not only kill the most brilliant man on Earth, it could cripple the Dib-human's psyche.

Vem smirked. This might actually be good. He'd have to swap the carbine for something else though.

Pulling over, Vem began to search his cache for his desired weapon. It was a long-barreled Irken-rifle, bubbly and blocky at the same time like most other Irken weapons. It was essentially the same as the carbine, but instead of a ringed cone at one end it had a long barrel and took large, solid slugs instead of energy cores. He found the rifle and slapped a thin cylinder with red lenses on it; an Irken scope.

Vem parked his car, grabbed the rifle and emerged the vehicle cloaked.

…

"Are you two the Professor's roommates?" A security officer asked Dib and Gaz.

"You mean his children?" Dib asked. "Do you live with him?" The officer returned. Dib sighed. "Yes." He answered. "Great. You and your little party here have been invited to be apart of the Professor's introductory ceremony at 2:00PM, just under an hour from now." The officer explained, "Until then, just do whatever. Wait, there's a note to Gaz here… 'Don't let Dib do anything embarrassing'… Well that's weird…"

Dib, Gaz and their friends entered the Faire after special metal bracelets were locked onto their wrists. "Zim feels uncomfortable with this…" Zim stated as he noticed the bracelet hiss at him when he attempted to remove it.

They passed by several exhibits displaying amazing feats of Membrane's genius. One was a miniature particle accelerator that could power over two-hundred light bulbs indefinitely. Another was something called 'Ultra Toast', whatever that was.

Finally Dib came across something that stunned everyone except Zita and Gaz to the core. It was a ship, much like Tak's ship in the garage, but with Membrane variations to it. Larz's jaw went slightly slack and Tak's brow furrowed suspiciously as Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow at the sight.

Larz began to read the plaque near the vehicle aloud: "The finest in space-faring technology, reverse engineered from my son's genius projects in the family garage. He had, to my immediate observations, designed and built a ship capable of immense speeds in and out of Earth's atmosphere. I am proud to name this invention in his honour, the Dib Ship."

Tak glared questioningly at her boyfriend. "Do you mind telling me why it looks like an Irken Spittle Runner, Dib?" She asked. Zim was also glaring and now even Gaz was interested. "Well, I found a crashed Irken ship and I fixed it up in the garage to the best of my abilities." Dib admitted.

Tak's cheeks were red with a slight bit of scorn. "And whose ship was this? Because it certainly wasn't Zim's!" Tak growled slightly. Dib took a defensive step back from the indigo-haired beauty. "Relax, relax! I might have reverse-engineered your ship." Dib said calmly.

Tak turned to Zim and grabbed him by the collar. "Did you know about this?" She demanded. Zim let out a startled yelp before smiling. "Why yes, Tak, I did know about this. I'd actually forgotten he had it until I saw this one." Zim pointed at the model ship, "Besides, it's probably inferior to any Irken ship considering the fact it was made by humans." Larz shook his head as he studied the statistics near the ship. "Actually, it's even better than Tak's new ship…" He pointed out.

Tak growled feeling insulted. Not only had they captured and reverse-engineered her ship, they'd made it better! "LIES!" Zim hissed, not wanting to believe a human could make a better ship than an Irken. "Not only that but they plan on producing them, en masse, for both civil and military markets." Larz whistled as he read more information on the Dib Ship.

Gaz looked at her watch. "Hey, we better be getting to where they told us to meet Dad. It's already 1:50." She pointed at her watch. Dib nodded agreement and they began heading towards the center platform.

Tak turned slightly as her well-trained eye caught a glimmer of something, like a piece of the background shifting around the others. She stared for a moment but shook the feeling off. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

…

Vem cursed himself. Even cloaked the Tak-defect had almost seen him. He couldn't tell if he was head-over-heels for the Irken warrior goddess or if he wanted to murder her or merely bed her. Vem smiled viciously. He'd do both soon enough anyway.

He moved into position on the rooftops adjacent to the platform, taking aim at the six sitting there. Right here, right now he could potentially eradicate every last of his targets.

But that wasn't Vem. No, Vem enjoyed toying with his victims. He loved to hear the terror and shock, loved to kill them up close and personally. That's why he was waiting for the right moment with the right target, and then he'd take the shot. With that shot he would decimate the confidence of the Resisty member, thus wounding an emotional blow to Tak. Than he'd pick the others off, slowly, including the Gaz-human.

Vem looked up from his scope for a second. The Gaz-human intrigued him a little. Not nearly as much as the Tak-defect, but in some degree. He smirked wildly, even blushing a little at his own devious idea. He could bed both of them and murder them! Or maybe even just keep them as his own personal working women until they bored him. Vem was in a fantasy world of his own he almost didn't notice the cheering.

Vem snapped out of his dark dreams to notice the Membrane-human walk across the stage, welcomed by thunderous applause. He entered the right stance and waited for a good moment.

…

Gaz was smiling mildly as she saw her father strut across the stage to the applause. She hated most of humanity, but her father was a saint, almost a god to the people of this city. They worshipped him for all they had brought him.

Dib was also smiling. He had a certain degree of pride, almost a wounded pride, for his father. He was proud to be his son, but sad that he lived in his shadow. Still, these moments where his father wanted them to be apart of his golden moments, shining in the admiration of thousands, made it well worth it.

Tak and Gaz were happy to see their respective lovers happy. Zim smiled softly at the Gaz-human, his Gaz-flower, smiling. It was a rare sight he loved so much. It was ironic that just a few years ago he had used her as an umbrella. Tak was happy to see Dib smiling a genuine smile that wasn't paranormal-related. She admired his love of the paranormal, but she was really glad to see something besides UFOs or Bigfoot making him happy.

Larz and Zita sat respectively to the side of the others and the Professor. They were happy to be up there with the single most respected and rightfully so, man on the planet.

"I would first like to welcome my two children to the stage." Professor Membrane gestured to his kids, "My eldest son, a genius like his old man in the art of physics and space travel, the true inventor of the Dib Ship you might have seen already, Dib Membrane!" There was applause as Dib sheepishly stood and approached the microphone. He still felt guilty for getting all the credit for that.

"And now, my daughter! She's ingenious in robotics and military applications, has a great sense of humour and is just the apple of my eye! Let's give it up for Gaz Membrane, people!" Membrane pointed to Gaz as she stood and stepped forward to join her brother. There was another wave of applause as the three bowed together.

"Now, I'd like to begin by announcing the revival of Project PEG…" Membrane began his lectures to the masses as they readied up the massive device. Zim smiled lightly. He remembered when he tried to sabotage that thing and wondered if Gaz still had the Dib robot.

Suddenly, before PEG could even finish warming up, everyone heard a sharp crack like thunder. Before anyone could react, Professor Membrane fell with a spray of blood coming from his chest. He dropped like a tombstone, his tall body falling past his two children that stood at his sides. Their faces were the same mixture of shock and pain as little droplets of blood speckled across them.

Gaz dropped to her knees and stared at the lifeless form that was her father. The torso section of his lab coat had gone from white to red within moments and he'd stopped bleeding. She looked up and around, seeing everything in slow motion. She saw her brother had also fallen to his knees and was gripping their father's hand. She saw both Zim and Tak running to their sides, Larz and Zita close behind. She saw the security officers hollering orders and jumping onto the stage. She saw the screaming masses of people flood for exits. She felt the officers pry her away from her father's body, saw but could not hear Dib screaming as they dragged him away from their father, his eyes red and running water as Tak followed and tried to calm him down. She saw Larz and Zita draw away in pain at the sight of their friends' loss.

But when she looked for where the shots had come from she could not find anyone or anything.

And then she realized she was crying for the first time in her life.

**Chapter 20 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, that was a depressing chapter. And to think it started off so happy… Oh well, I'm sorry if Professor Membrane was one of your fav characters, but it's all part of the plot, my readers.**


	21. Funeral THEN a Wedding?

**ARGH! The grammar and spelling errors of past chapters are pissing me off! -.-**

**Anyway, on with this sad chap.**

Gaz was in darker clothes than usual, her purple traded out for a much darker shade and her white skull necklace removed for the service. She wore a veiled hat that masked her face. Zim stood next to her at the service, wearing a black 'Earth-monkey suit' as he usually called them with an Irken-pink shirt underneath and an Irken-purple tie completing his ensemble. Gir was there, surprisingly quiet and respectful in his disguise.

Dib had been offered the chance to be a pole bearer and took the position. Tak watched him in his black grey suit and black greatcoat, dry-cleaned and pressed for the occasion, with his crisp white gloves holding the silver poles of the casket. He stood as rigid and at attention as the security officers around him, or the fellow scientists serving as pole bearers. His face was blank of emotion, his eyes locked in a gaze of deep thought.

Tak wore her usual clothes, but also wore a corsage of white roses out of respect or tribute. She wasn't too good at Earth customs, but was sure that it was a sign of respect for the dead. MiMi was at her feet in quiet cat form. Larz wore his dress uniform, pressed and clean. Zita wore a black dress to the ceremony and her hair had a black band in it.

They put the casket into a device Membrane had built before his death as requested in his will. There was a warping noise as it activated and the casket was gone. Dib actually smiled a little. Even in death his dad still enjoyed science firsts, like teleporting his corpse to the sun for a cremation.

Being a man of pure science and no faith, there was a rather short sermon as only a few scientists spoke of Professor Membrane. After they finished the mourners departed, even Larz and Zita. Soon only Dib, Gaz, Zim and Tak remained.

There was another mourner, but he was several yards behind them. They'd never met this man, or at least never seen him as he was. He'd met them though and gave a jagged smile of victory from behind his veiled fedora, the ripped black greatcoat flapping around his feet. He turned and left after he had his fill of the sight.

"I'd like to stay a little longer, if that's alright…" Gaz said weakly from behind her veil. Zim agreed to stay with her. Dib said nothing as he continued to look at his father's grave. The city had donated a monument that stood as his grave marker. It was an impressive statue of Membrane standing, one arm raised with an atom floating in his palm. Nearly the entire city had come to pay respects to him.

Dib had run out of tears, as had Gaz. Now they just looked sadly at the statue for several more minutes before they decided to leave. Dib took one last look back at the statue as they got into the rented limousine and let a single, final tear fall down his face.

…

Vem was cackling as he drew up more plans. That was just what he needed; a good kill to get out of his slump and back into the murderous saddle he had on Conventia. The death had shattered way more people's psyche than just the Dib-human or his sister. A good kill in Vem's book.

So why was he unsatisfied? It was just as on Conventia: his thirst was unquenched. He desired more! He needed to rip the life from the vile humans and the Irken-defects. That was Vem's religion. He worshipped death.

Vem noticed that during his thoughts he had begun the composure of dark poems of death and litany-prayers to death incarnate, all scribbled into his plans and maps. He smiled without baring his teeth. He'd forgotten he had poetic potential. If he hadn't gone insane he could've been a poet on Poetria, but independent thought and literature was such a dying breed in a galaxy of fast-paced, idiotic species. No. That was why he worshipped death: because others did not deserve life, only the life-ender.

Humanity, Irkens, Saurians. All weak. Or at least that's how Vem saw it. Vem never really had much faith in anyone.

He never really liked anyone.

…

"So, that's the situation." A large lawyer who wore very bleak clothing in his grey office explained to Dib and Gaz. Gaz was gripping her brother's hands so tight that her knuckles had lost what little colour they had.

Dib looked downtrodden, defeated even. "B-but… She's my sister. We're the only family we have now." Dib spat out weakly. "I'm sorry, but you're only eighteen and don't make enough money. Not only that, but being in such a drab and lonely household doesn't seem like a good influence on her." The man raised his hands in defense.

Dib sighed but then his eyes sparked a little with an idea. "What if I was married and both I and my spouse had better-paying jobs?" Dib asked the lawyer. "Well, if you get married and you can increase the income enough… I guess, technically I can't deny it." The man pondered, "But you'd have to do it quickly or the state has permission to take this young lady into our care."

Dib shuddered. He'd seen the conditions of the city itself, but the foster home was one of the worst things he'd seen in all. He looked over and saw Gaz looking at him with her veil lifted. She had her eyes opened and had a tinge of fear in those unemotional eyes of hers. Dib had actually lost feeling in his hand from how tight she was gripping it.

They left the office and Dib sighed again. "How are you going to get married fast?" Gaz asked her brother. It was the first words she'd spoken that Thursday, three days after the incident and just one day after the funeral. A very fast and packed week it was for the Membrane children.

Dib ran a hand through his scythe hair. It was greasy from not showering that morning. He'd been rushed into this meeting and was depressed from the events that unfolded. To think that he'd never be forced into another family night with his father and his sister… To think of all that he had taken for granted… Gaz patted him on the back and he realized he was on the verge of breaking out into dry sobs. He had run out of tears.

He smiled reassuringly at his sister. Love could heal all wounds and it would solve this one as well. All he needed was a marriage.

…

Tak looked up from her Irken top that she was spinning on the computer desk for several hours. She was depressed over the incident as well but more over the pain it caused Dib than anything else. She looked up as Zim approached her with two guests and her antennae pointed up.

"Dib?" She asked but was hushed by a finger to her lip. Dib dropped to one knee and Tak's heart somersaulted, half-flying for what this meant, half-sunken for the timing.

"Tak," Dib began, "I have always loved you, and since the first day we met. Regardless of the differences in physiology, beliefs or species even, I have loved you. I have a hard time wondering if this moment should have come earlier or if I would have hoped it could have come later… Circumstances dictate for it to happen now, but I don't mind that and I hope you don't mind that either…" Dib produced a small black box and the half-sunken feeling in Tak's heart disappeared as her cheeks burned dark green and she felt her heart in her throat.

"Tak 'Zimmerman', will you marry me, save my sister, work with me in the Membrane Laboratories and make me the happiest man on the face of the planet?" He asked simply, waiting for an answer.

There was silence for several seconds as Tak thought of the answer. 'Why are you even thinking about this?' She asked herself, 'It's the man you love proposing to you! The ultimate Earth symbol of commitment and love! Sure, there are other reasons he's doing it, but the main reason is love!'

Dib's face paled after a few seconds. 'My gods, what have I done?' He asked himself, 'This might ruin our relationship! This could destroy it even!' He closed his eyes and waited for the worst.

"Yes."

Dib's eyes shot open at the answer and he looked into the crying purple orbs of his beloved. "Y-yes?" He asked. She was nodding as the ability to speak escaped her for a moment. "Yes. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Dib Membrane, I would love to be your life-mate, or betrothed, or wife… Whatever they call it, yes!" She was crying and hugging Dib.

Dib smiled warmly as he returned the embrace. If only all his tears hadn't been expended on misery and pain over the years he might have been crying tears of joy at this moment. Gaz and Zim were even smiling a little, happy to see both of their friends so happy at this moment.

Dib approached Zim after a little bit and patted him on the back. "Zim, old buddy/enemy… You've gotta be one of my only friends, my best friend in this entire world." Dib said. Zim was overwhelmed with the title that he actually smiled a similar smile as the one he always gave to Gaz. "And as sad and pathetic as that is," Dib joked, "It still makes you the best candidate to be my Best Man."

Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow, still not exactly sure what that term was. "Best Man?" He asked. Dib nodded. "On Earth, the groom of a wedding selects his best friend to stand with him at the ceremony. It's sort of a sign of respect and good faith to the relation." Dib explained. Zim smiled happily and accepted the title.

Tak turned to Gaz. "Ooo! Gaz, would you like to be whatever the female-equivalent of a 'Best Man' is?" Tak asked. Gaz shrugged. "A Bridesmaid? Sure, I guess." She said. It would get her mind off of the death, after all.

Dib and Tak began to call their friends (Larz and Zita) and called for a wedding receptionist. Fortunately for them, Dib had been left a hefty inheritance and still had plenty of money stocked up from his various TV appearances, magazine articles and his job at Rent-a-Flick. He rarely spent money outside of gift money and that was usually on surplus.

Gaz rolled her eyes as Zim began to talk of plans to conquer the world through the wedding. She began to smile again at his outlandish ideas.

Things were finally looking up.

**Chapter 21 Completed, please R&R**

**And the emotions are on the rebound back Happy Town!**

**Btw, if you know what WH40K is and you like my off sense of humour PM me about my WH40K humour comic on DA.**


	22. Nice Day for a Black Wedding

**Believe it or not, I've finally seen the entire Tak episode now, so **

Vem was driving around the city, a map in his passenger seat with houses marked out. He managed to find the city, just a single city on a planet, where his targets were but he couldn't find the damned bases. He growled in annoyance. This would go much faster if his SIR hadn't been destroyed.

He was looking out the window as he passed a church and immediately stopped the car, causing several cars to swerve around him and crash into oncoming traffic. He shook his head. He did not just read what he thought he read.

Backing the car up Vem studied the sign more in-depth. It read: "The Zimmerman-Membrane wedding is being held here, this Sunday after services." The sign was written with broken, grey letters like everything else in the entire city but the message was the same. One of the Membrane children was getting married to someone named 'Zimmerman'. It had to be the Gaz-human and Zim, Vem thought. Zimmerman, Zim… I mean, it seemed like a poorly constructed name only Zim would be stupid enough to use.

So Vem sped away from the church to make plans for that Sunday.

…

Dib was sweating nervously as Larz and Zim were helping him with his wedding preparations. Larz, who knew more about these things, was busy organizing it as an unofficial wedding organizer while Zim was helping with Dib's tuxedo. "Thank you guys for the help. By the way, why do you know so much about tuxedos?" Dib asked.

Zim shrugged. "I learned awhile ago how to work with almost any article of clothing for disguises, especially when I started growing." Zim explained with a sly grin. Gods, how he was proud of his height although he was shorter than either Dib or Larz, or Tak and just a little taller than Gaz. Dib smiled a little. He had good friends. But then he frowned wondering if his sister was holding up well after the funeral. It just seemed so sudden…

"Are you alright Dib-drone?" Zim asked with some concern in his voice. Dib noticed he looked like he was going to cry even though he had no tears left. "Yeah, I'm fine Zim. Just wondering how Gaz is holding up." Zim nodded in concurrence. "I too am wondering how the Gaz-flower is holding up. From what I've heard the two of them had a bond of sorts… You dirt-pigs call it… 'Daddy's little girl'?" Zim asked. Dib nodded. Even if a man wanted a son he'd be proud of his little girl, protective too. It was weird how that worked.

"I wouldn't worry too much though," Zim said after a moment of silence, "She is the most resilient human I've ever met. If anyone can get through an incident as traumatizing as this, it's her." Dib smiled in agreement. When Zim was right, he was right, even if that was only every other week.

…

Tak was humming a wedding tune as she danced around in her black wedding dress. It had purple flowers in a corsage on her chest and some grey frills near the bottom of the dress. "How's this one look?" She asked Gaz. Gaz sighed in response. "It looks ok." She shrugged. She wasn't feeling to into the mood considering her father had just died.

Tak looked at her sympathetically. Gaz resisted the urge to apologize out of ruining the mood. She really didn't need to. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" Tak asked. Gaz shrugged. "I don't know why I'm so bothered by him being gone. He wasn't around often anyways." She sighed. Gaz's eyes shot open when she felt someone's embrace. She turned her head to see Tak hugging her. Gaz let her finish hugging her before talking. "I think the dress looks nice." She said simply. Tak smiled and thanked Gaz.

"So, you're not the least bit bothered that half the reason you two are getting married so soon is to keep the city from shoving me into a foster's home?" Gaz asked. Tak shrugged and waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "I am a little. But, he still loves me, right?" Tak said. It took Gaz a moment to realize she was being serious with her question. "Oh yeah. He doesn't shut up about you. I think I preferred it when he yammered on about Zim and stopping him than you and all that love stuff." Gaz made an audible shudder of disgust and Tak giggled.

"I don't think I mind. I mean, it might be a little earlier than either of us expected, but we love each other and… Well, just look at this ring." Tak squealed as she showed the large amethyst in a thin silver frame. Large might've been pushing it, but it was a decent sparkle of purple in aged silver. Dib had gotten it used from a pawn shop because he saw it and loved the antiquated look it had to it, plus the aged metal matched more with Tak's dark clothing than bright new silver.

Gaz fiddled with her GS5, playing some new game of dragon slaying as a vampire knight. She preferred slaying vampire piggies over dragons, but playing as a vampire knight had its advantages. For one she just blew a dragon-kin up with some sort of dark mana blast and the graphics were worthy of drooling over. She decided to speak up again after another moment of silence.

"So, what did you guys get at the shower?" Gaz asked. She was referring to the wedding shower they had just the other day. Since it was such short notice nearly everything was self-bought, used or just monetary gifts. "Well, Dib got us some fancy used car that has a bunch of safety features." Tak recalled Bill's sedan, "Zim gave us a piece of artwork he made from a few years back when he tried to be artistic to be 'normal'."

Gaz let out a chuckle. She remembered the incident several years back when she first got moved into the same grade as her brother and Zim. She was 12, nearly 13 and Dib was already 15. Zim had taken to painting to be more normal and his artwork shocked everyone. Zim first painted a portrait of Ms. Bitters, a frightening rendition of her in one of her darkest moods, painted with cool purples, frightened blues and dark grays, contrasted by deathly whites. It was so lifelike and abstract at the same time, showing the daemon within but also being Ms. Bitters. Really there is a lack of words for it and Ms. Bitters kept it as a personal memento, being less abrasive towards Zim for the remainder of Skool out of admiration.

Zim eventually quit painting because it backfired. Instead of blending in he stood out as an amazing artist. Still, Gaz noticed there was something reminiscent of an art studio in Zim's house and a couple paintings she hadn't seen him paint at school. Not only that, but the room didn't seem dusty.

So Tak finished with the dress, buying the black and grey one with violet flowers. She then decided to chat with Gaz more about weddings. "So, what are they like? I mean in real life?" She asked. Gaz shrugged. "Don't know; this'll be the first I've been to." Tak nodded in understanding. "I can't imagine a wedding in this city. Things here kind of suck." Gaz said pointing out the city cess pool they were passing. Tak shuddered in disgust, but smiled shortly after. "I'm sure it's perfect when you're in true love." She said after awhile.

Gaz smiled at Tak's optimism. It was almost inspiring.

**Chapter 22 Completed, please R&R**

**Sorry if this chappy sucks; I've been either in an angsty mood or a revolutionary mood for the past few days and I didn't want any of it to channel into my humorous romance story :P**


	23. Vem Revealed

The wedding was tomorrow and Dib and Tak decided to go with the stupid tradition of avoiding contact with each other until the wedding. It was stupid, but it was said to make the wedding even more spectacular.

So Dib occupied himself with other tasks until the next day. He finished with all the legal paperwork for weddings and adopting Gaz and with the transfer sheets of both Tak and himself from Rent-a-Flick to Membrane Labs. Zim was keeping him company as part of Zim and Gaz's plan to keep Tak and Dib committed to their separation, so he was more playing watchdog than keeping company. At the moment he was just reading some Irken comics Larz had seized, or 'ordered' as he told Zim, from captured facilities of the Resisty. Zim turned the pages and occasionally let out a laugh or a chuckle.

Dib began to tap his fingers impatiently. He figured that the legality would have taken longer but it really hadn't and now he had a bunch of free time on his hands. He looked upwards at the artwork that Zim had painted. It was a large portrait of Dib and Tak dancing to oddly shaped snowflakes. They were both wearing their usually clothes and the background was ruined and dead, flaming almost. It was then Dib realized something.

"Hey Zim…" Dib called over to his alien friend and Zim looked up in acknowledgement, "When did you paint this?" Zim shrugged. "Oh, just awhile ago, Dib-drone. Remember when I was painting to be normal?" Zim responded. Dib glanced at him. "But Tak and I weren't a couple then. As a matter of fact, I don't recall you ever painting anything with Tak in it." He observed. Zim shrugged again but Dib could see him sweating. "Well, Dib-drone, I painted it in private as a piece of art depicting the two people who seemingly hated Zim's guts." He lied.

"Zim, I can tell you're lying." Dib said, "If this were a painting to dehumanize us, why would we look so human and, well, happy? Wouldn't we be more vicious? And don't even try saying it's because you can't relay 'pitiful human emotions' into artwork. I've seen what you can do." Dib said. Zim let out a defeated, raspy sigh. "Alright, alright! So maybe Zim has dabbled back and forth into the realms of painting." Zim waved his arms in defense, "But it is no crime! It's just something I do to relax if I'm in a plan-block."

Dib nodded. "But why is it snowing and neither of us are wearing our winter coats?" Dib asked. Zim laughed lightly and made a comment about feeble human brain size. "Dib-drone, that's not snow; they're ashes." Zim explained, "You see, Zim has always seen both you and Tak as worthy opponents. Maybe not respectfully, but definitely with a slight degree of admiration." Zim admitted. "So you painted us dancing in the ashes of a burning city?" Dib asked flatly. Zim snorted. "Well yeah! I've always pictured you two as great conquerors in a couple! Emperor and Empress trying to take over and dominate. Isn't that fun?" Zim asked.

Dib sighed. "Zim, you realize I'm like a revolutionary anti-imperialist who fights to stop oppression from alien invaders, right?" Dib asked. Zim nodded. "True, but do you ever try to fight the oppression on your own planet? Your species isn't much better than the atrocious ones we've conquered, nor are they really better than our empire itself." Zim growled as he realized what he said, "I mean they are better! Their system just isn't too far off from your pitiful Earth way of governing!" "Well, the whole point is I'd rather avoid fighting with my own species anymore." Dib deadpanned.

There was an awkward silence for a bit as Dib admired the painting more and Zim thought over what Dib had said. "If nobody at skool likes you and nobody in this entire city respect you, and the entire world thinks poorly of you why do you want to defend it?" He asked after twelve minutes. Dib looked back at the Irken. "Why do you wish to conquer Earth so badly just to impress you leaders who think just as poorly as you as my fellow humans do of me?" He retorted. Zim scowled.

"Careful what you say, Dib-drone. Zim still has your life in debt." Zim warned. Dib shuddered. He knew his sister was acting kinder to him lately but she'd still wallop him for saving over her game files. "I'm sorry, Zim. Still, why do you work for the Empire?" Dib asked. Zim grumbled something and realized Gir was in the room staring blankly out the window. He raised an eyebrow and shouted out at his robot.

"Gir! What are you doing?" Zim asked the blank robot. Gir turned away from the window with a whimper. "I saw that scary bird man that tried to hurt the big-headed boy and the scary ladies and kitty!" Gir pointed out the window. Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow with Dib as it registered in their brains. "Vernon…" Dib and Zim hissed, hurrying to the window.

They looked out. It wasn't Vernon per say, but it was someone with the same sunglasses and crooked, jagged smile. He'd found the Membrane household. Before either Zim or Dib could react the jagged-shaded teen sped away in a poorly painted junkyard car.

"We have to tell the others…" Dib let out. Zim shook his head. "You're not allowed to even speak with Tak until tomorrow." He said but Dib just glared at him. "Zim!" He hissed and Zim put his hands up in apology. "Right, right! Zim is sorry; the seriousness of the situation eluded me for a moment." Zim defended.

Dib sighed. He hoped Tak and Gaz were alright.

…

Tak was having a blast. Gaz was being a very gracious host and taking her to fun places to forget about Dib until the next day. At that moment she was playing some sort of sniper arcade game and Gaz was impressed with her progress. Tak's skill with an Irken rifle and translated fairly well into the plastic rifle-shaped controller used to shoot targets in a virtual simulator. Enemy soldiers had six hostages on three floors and Tak had twenty seconds to clear them out without harming the hostages. She cleared it in seven.

And then she beat the game. Tak actually beat an arcade video game. Gaz was actually impressed since she was the only one who ever did that. "Well that was fun." Tak smiled brushing the hair out of her face. There was a small grouping of teens around the two. Apparently two attractive girls kicking ass in video games was appealing to the many lonely suitors there. Tak shooed them away. "Sorry, I'm taken for." She held up her ring finger and there were a few 'awws' in the crowd. They turned to Gaz who merely growled at them and they dispersed.

"So, where to next?" Tak asked Gaz as they left the arcade. Gaz rubbed her chin. They'd just beaten several games at the arcade… "I don't know… Wanna get some Bloaty's?" Gaz asked. Tak shuddered in disgust and Gaz almost slapped herself. "Right, sorry, I forgot you're Irken." Gaz apologized. Tak smirked. "How do you forget your future sister-in-law's an alien?" She asked with a snicker. Gaz sighed heavily. "Because you're so… cool, I guess." Gaz admitted, "You play video games, you watch _Star Wars_, you build robots… You do things other geeky outcasts would do."

Tak smiled. She felt almost like Gaz and she were forming a sisterly bond. A sudden thought crossed her head and she asked a question she almost immediately regretted. "Did you know Zim's mission is false?" Tak asked. Gaz raised an eyebrow. "It is?" She pondered, "That sucks. Still, it makes a little sense." Gaz was thinking more into it and it bummed her out a little. "Really?" She asked to be sure and Tak nodded.

Gaz let out a sigh. "He can't find out about this. It would destroy him thoroughly…" Gaz muttered. Tak let out a disappointed sigh. "I know. I shouldn't have brought it up." Tak was realizing her error. Gaz's phone began to ring. "Speak of the bugger now." She muttered with a smile.

"Hey Zim. Is Dib trying to talk to Tak?" Gaz's smile faded after a few seconds of hollering from the other end. "What is it?" Tak asked, aware of the sudden mood change. Gaz told Zim she understood what he was saying and hung up. Tak asked her what happened again.

"Vernon knows where Dib and I live…" Gaz stated. Tak's brow furrowed. Vernon, or whatever his real name was, was becoming a real nuisance. But then she looked up. Vernon was standing just a few yards from Gaz and herself and Tak had accidently dropped the pistol into the bags holding the dresses and had left the bags at home.

Gaz opened her eyes threateningly at the crooked toothed teen. He gave a smirk and took a step towards them. He put his arms up in mock defense as Gaz growled and unsheathed her own compact Irken pistol.

"Easy, dirt-child." Vernon spat, "I'm just here to give you this." He tossed a spent Irken shell with a message engraved in it that read 'You're next'. Gaz's eyes flashed red with fury as she realized it was the same caliber as the bullet that had struck her father down. Vernon let out a sick cackle but was cut short suddenly.

Vernon fell onto his back, one of his arms flying away at the shoulder. He had gone from cackling to a bitter shriek in almost a second and was on the floor wailing in pain as his disguise flickered. He looked towards Gaz and gulped as she crushed the thick metal shell with her boot, flattening it, before growling and aligning another shot from the pistol. Vernon's disguise flickered out as his PAK legs activated to jump out of the way of the next shot. Tak gasped out 'Vem' but it was nearly drowned out by the second shot which took Vem's foot of his ankle.

Vem fled with his PAK legs, a trail of dark green giving his path away. He had quit screaming and was cussing under his strained breath. What a stupid idea to just come up to them and give them a message like that! They were bound to be armed! Vem ducked the third shot and jumped into his car to quickly speed away. A fourth and fifth shot took out a window and a tire but Vem managed to escape.

Gaz was still growling in anger after she had lost the car. Tak, meanwhile, was staring in a mix of surprise, admiration and fear. "Gaz," She breathed after catching up with the fang-haired child, "That was amazing!" Tak praised her dark bridesmaid. Gaz, after calming down a little, smiled in response.

…

Vem collapsed into his base and the computer set to applying new prosthetics. "I take it today went well?" The computer asked in its dark and metallic tone. Vem wheezed as his wounds were shut and more blood was pumped into his veins. "Was that sarcasm I heard?" He coughed, "Is my computer getting a sense of humour?" The computer replied with an explanation of protocol and that he still loathed him.

Vem nodded. "Well, if you must know, I now know that the defects are armed and dangerous." He explained, "I'll just have to level the playing field tomorrow." Vem cackled for a few moments as his strength was regained but let out a sharp howl as new prosthetics were inserted into his ankle and shoulder joints.

Of all the medical supplies and vast mechanical limbs he had brought with him, why hadn't he brought any painkillers?

**Chapter 23 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, here's this one. Zim's an awesome painter, Dib and Zim have an argument, Vem loses more body parts by being stupid, Tak kicks ass at video games and Gaz, well, she just kicks ass in general.**


	24. Safehouse

Zim stared in horror at Tak. "You can't be serious!" Zim tried to deny what she had just said but Tak nodded seriously.

They were both at Zim's base undisguised. Gaz and Zim insisted on holding them to their agreement to not see each other until the next day so they merely switched from groom with best man and wife with bridesmaid to brother with sister and Irken with Irken. Tak and Zim were at their base while Dib and Gaz stayed on the move.

"Vem…" Zim let the words slip from his lips like foul water. It almost didn't sound real coming out of his mouth. "How… How could he be here? WHY is he here?" Zim actually seemed to be showing fear in his voice and that was in turn scaring Tak. "Zim, you need to calm down." She asserted, grabbing Zim by the crimson shoulders of his uniform and shaking him slightly.

"Of course. Zim has nothing to fear of such a defect as Vem!" Zim regained his composure and hissed out Vem's cursed name, "Especially not with the combined powers of Zim's allies, the Irken Elite Tak and the fear-inspiring Gaz-daemon!" Zim laughed overzealously. Tak could still sense the fear but it was smothered beneath Zim's confidence and that was good.

Tak sighed as she looked out the window. The sun was going down which signaled that the day was almost over. Tomorrow would be her wedding with Dib. It was such a strange custom to be married, to be bonded for life out of love. That was a weird concept to grasp considering Tak was at least 70-odd years old and still young by Irken standards and that Irkens did not believe in love, so therefore not only did she break that habit but she also would outlive her husband unless she was killed before him. That was unfortunate.

Then Tak got sidetracked with the mathematics. "Zim, how many Irken years is an Earth year?" Tak asked. Zim shrugged in response. "Zim believes it to be anywhere from two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half." He said after a moment to think. Tak smiled. That meant by Earth standards she was technically about… younger than 25 in Earth years.

And then Tak got distracted by more things. "Zim," Tak began, "What if Dib and I want to have smeets?" Zim's face looked paler as he began coughing spastically. "Smeets? Do you have the mind rot?" Zim asked and Tak gave a meager shrug in response.

"Why do you want smeets with the Dib-drone?" Zim asked, tapping his foot with irritation at Tak's sudden change of subject. "We love each other and I'd like to have a little smeet between us to raise and call our own." Tak was hugging herself now as she said these things and Zim shuddered. Gods how Tak had gotten ditsy when she fell for Dib.

"Alright then… You realize it is illegal to have smeets outside of cloning and tube methods, correct?" Zim asked but then his antennae popped up as a look of horror crept across his face. "You-you didn't _mate_ with the Dib-drone, did you?" Tak rubbed the back of her head and blushed a little. "Well, you now… Maybe a little…" Tak admitted. Zim's brow furrowed. "And what is 'a little'?" He asked. "Oh, about everyday we've been together… Sometimes twice… On rare occasions it can be three or even four…" Tak was counting on her fingers and Zim fell to his knees, gripping where his ears should be and screeching at her to stop.

"That is disgusting, Tak! You two are different species and it goes against Irken law!" Zim was stating. Tak blew a raspberry at him. "Oh, who cares about Irken law?" She asked. Zim looked like someone had just kicked him in the heart. "Blasphemy!" Zim hissed out after a moment and Tak rolled her eyes.

"So the great Irken Elite is a defect? The rumours are true!" Zim shouted in rage. Now Tak realized her error. Zim was going to go ballistic on her and this all started because she wanted smeets. But to her surprise Zim calmed down.

He stood there as if he was going to lash out at her but he was just breathing heavily before he took a few deep breaths and relaxed. "Zim is now relaxed. Let us pretend we never spoke of Irken law and return to the smeet topic…" Zim was scrunching the bridge of where his nose would be with his left forefinger and thumb.

"Um… Ok then…" Tak agreed. "Tak, how would you even go about having smeets? It's not like your mating with the Dib-drone will fertilize any eggs! It just won't work! Frankly, Zim is surprised that you two could mate at all." Zim explained.

Tak sighed. Zim was right. A human couldn't impregnate an Irken and an Irken couldn't impregnate a human. Simple science and common sense. But then Tak's eyes shot open and she looked back at Zim. "Zim. You're Irken." She said. Zim raised an eyebrow inquisitively at this obvious statement. "Thank you?" He replied in a confused tone.

"Well, perhaps the two of us could… You know." Tak was feeling stupider and stupider as the words left her mouth. She was blatantly and plainly asking Zim, ZIM, to mate with her so she could have a smeet that Dib probably wouldn't be ok with anyway. Thankfully Zim was still oblivious. "Never mind, it was a terrible idea." Tak quickly waved her hands and let out a growl of self-disgust.

Zim's eyebrow was still raised but he just said "Alright then…" Thank goodness he was so dense or that would have been more awkward than need be. "Anyway, Zim is going to go partake of a recreational activity. He does not wish to be disturbed!" Zim growled. Tak watched him grab a large, paint-smeared shirt and a set of brushes before disappearing into the hallway.

She sighed in agitation. That was the stupidest thing she had ever done. She smiled a little. Not the stupidest thing she'd done, but the stupidest thing she'd almost done. She could sleep easy knowing that she didn't actually go through with her proposition because gods only knew how Dib would react.

She watched the sun finish setting and thought of Dib some more before lulling off to sleep. She wondered if he was thinking of her at this very moment.

…

Dib watched as the last rays of sun faded beyond the horizon. He really missed Tak. Sighing heavily without realizing it he drew the attention of his frightening sister, Gaz. "Thinking about Tak?" She asked as she looked out the window of the hotel room to make sure there was still no one watching them. She doubted that this Vem guy would find them, but you never knew.

"Yeah, she's all I can think about, you know?" Dib asked. Gaz shrugged, but she really did know. She couldn't get Zim out of her mind sometimes. Damn her occasional emotions showing through that haze of hers. "Well, ever since Vem came around ever time Tak and I are separated all I can see is that same image; the one of when she was being assaulted…" Dib admitted, "Then a feeling of helplessness comes over me and then guilt…"

Gaz sighed as she drew the blinds closed. "Dib, don't worry about it. I've dealt with that guy before and so has Tak. I'm pretty sure he's not as big of a threat as Zim and Tak are letting on." Gaz stated. Dib raised an eyebrow in question at her but noticed her fist was clenched in rage. "But I make this pledge, with you as my witness Dib that Vem shall pay dearly for what he did to our father. I will drag him into a hellish realm of fear and pain of which there is no escape, cut him open while he is still alive and wring his squeedily-spooch out, crushing the life from him as if he were caught in a rusted press…" Gaz threatened through gritted teeth.

Dib gulped. Even though it wasn't directed at him for a change it still frightened him. "Dib." She said after a moment of silence, "Would you like to do the honours of cutting him open and examining his organ before I crush the life from it?" Dib actually felt like this was an honourable question. He'd always been one for dissections and the like and now his sister was asking not only if they could do something together but also if he wanted to partake in one of her famous vendettas.

Dib did something that was the Dib-equivalent of Gaz smiling: he gave a sadistic grin. "Why, sister, I would be all too pleased to."

The two sat in contemplative silence awhile longer before turning on the television and going to bed shortly after.

**Chapter 24 Completed, please R&R**

**Brother-Sister revenge tag-team! Btw, if anyone cares, my father's day gift is complete!**


	25. Gaz saves Everyone

Tak awoke to find herself in her bed. She didn't remember getting into her room let alone her bed so she was rather confused at how she got from the living room to where she now laid.

She sat up and stretched and noticed a sticky note fall from the blanket as she sat up. Tak picked it up and read it to herself: "Dear Tak-defect. I noticed you were shivering like a victim of the bone chills so Zim took it upon himself to relocate you back to your guest room. P.S., MiMi and Gir disappeared sometime last night and I suspect they might be at one of those seizure-light clubs. Zim recommends investing in Tylenol."

Tak smiled at Zim's surprising gesture of kindness. She figured he would have sooner left her to freeze than to take her to her room, put her in her bed and pull a blanket over her. And how hadn't she noticed? She was trained to wake at the slightest touch in case of enemy soldiers slitting her throat at night. Maybe Earth was making her too soft…

But today was a great day to be soft. Today would be one of the greatest days of her life because today was her and Dib's wedding day. Strange how an Irken Elite defector and a human Resisty supporter would have ever met let alone fall in love. The odds had to be astronomical. Still, she was happy that she had such good luck of late. For the majority of her life she had tried so hard to be part of something that the Irken Empire would never let her be apart of and now she had something new to care about.

Maybe that was why love was illegal in the Empire; because it was a distraction. It was still an enjoyable and wonderful distraction.

…

Several hours later Dib was at the church with his sister. She wore a purple dress with a single black stripe running from her right shoulder to her left hip. The dress ended in a rippling pattern and she wore her trademarked buckled boots, polished for the occasion. Her outfit was finished with her dark makeup and skull pendant.

"Wow, Gaz. I never knew you could clean up so well." Dib said. Gaz opened one of her eyes threateningly with the question 'what did you just say?' written in her glare. "Er, I meant, I never you would want to clean up so well. It's just surprising, you know?" Dib corrected his error but was still kicked in the shin as punishment.

Dib was wearing his tuxedo, something he rarely wore. It was sad he'd be wearing it twice in one week. He almost laughed at the fact so much had happened so quickly in a week. Or cried. He couldn't figure out which. It was just so unreal.

He still wore his boots and his coat, so he didn't look too fancy. Gaz made a comment about him looking like a punk version of Dracula and asked him if he was going to meet up with Neo and Morpheus. "Very funny Gaz." had been his only responses to her jokes.

There was a crashing noise and a muffled exclamation about tacos followed by angry orders from a familiar, overzealous alien. Dib smiled as he realized they were here and the ceremony would begin soon. Gaz excused herself and traded spots with Zim who walked in dressed the same suit he wore to the funeral. His hyperactive robot was following him dressed as a green dog.

"Zim apologizes for his tardiness, Dib-drone." Zim said making some sort of Irken half-bow of respect, "I was attempting to take the safest routes possible and, well, Gir here wasn't too helpful with that." Zim jerked a thumb back towards his robot. "I gots my mastah' lost!" Gir smiled. "Yes. Yes he did." Zim sighed out of his teeth.

"It's alright Zim. How's Tak?" Dib asked. "Oh, she's fine. She was in something of a daze the entire trip over here with that pitiful love-smirk humans have on their faces often times. She looks quite ravishing though today. She really went all out for her appearance today with the program and outside of her disguise." Zim moved in closer to Dib. "To tell you the truth, if Zim were not committed to the Gaz-flower he would be jealous of your standing with the Tak-defect." Zim chuckled a little but was silenced at Gaz shouting 'Careful Zim!' from nowhere.

"Your sister's powers are both awe-inspiring and fear-inspiring. I am thankful she is merciful towards me." Zim stated after a fear-inspired silence. Dib nodded agreement. "Yeah, she can be coldhearted and mean at times, but she has he moments of… emotions other than rage." He explained. Zim looked at Dib questioningly. "Like love?" He asked. "Not really, no. I've never really seen her show love as I know it outside of that rare occurrence when she hugs me." Dib shrugged.

"She is ravishing as well." Zim said to no one in particular. "My sister? I never really thought of her in that way because, well, she's my sister. But yeah, I guess she's… attractive." Dib agreed reluctantly. It just didn't feel right rolling off of his tongue.

They were given a notice that they had ten minutes to get ready even though both groom and best man were ready at the time, so they sat to talk some more. Eventually the conversation took a unique turn when Zim brought up Tak and his early discussion.

"You know, the Tak-defect wishes for smeets." Zim noted. Dib raised an eyebrow at him. "Tak wants kids? That's… I don't know…" Dib was pondering this, "I'd be ok with it, but I'd like to wait for a few years… Wait for things to settle and Gaz to be old enough to be on her own legally."

Now Zim raised an eyebrow at him. "But how would you two go about having smeets? Human and Irken anatomy may match up, amazingly, but they still cannot interbreed." He informed Dib. Dib was in deep thought. "True." Was all he said.

After another moment of silence Zim admitted something to Dib. "The Tak-defect got me thinking. Zim would like smeets or 'children' of his own some day with the Gaz-flower. But the same problem lies between us as with you." Zim scratched his chin. Dib stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Please don't talk about doing… _that_ with my sister." Dib requested. Zim's eyes shot wide for a second as he looked at Dib.

"You two aren't genetically related, are you?" He asked. Dib shook his head. "Interesting…" Zim muttered and Dib caught on. "Zim, there is no way on Earth, heaven or hell that I will ever sleep with my sister just so you can have kids." Dib glared at Zim. Zim scoffed nervously. "Zim had no such intents of you! However, you are the only human she trusts and quite frankly the only one I find genetically worthy to…" Zim was trying to convince him. "Zim. No. Just, no." Dib finalized.

They sat quietly for a few more seconds and then Dib, inspired by Zim's twisted plan turned towards him. "What about you and Tak?" Dib asked and Zim glared at him questioningly. "What about me and Tak?" He asked. "Well, you two are Irken. Can't you two… mate?" Dib asked, almost slapping himself for his stupidity. Zim's mouth was actually slightly slackened at this suggestion. "You… want me to mate with your soon-to-be bride?" He asked to make sure he heard correctly.

"Well, you don't have to mate with her. Can't you artificially inseminate her if you both want smeets? Then you could have two and we could keep one and you could keep one." Dib still felt stupid for asking. Zim thought about it. "That is an impossibility for two reasons. The first is this: Irkens cannot artificially inseminate. Our anatomy allows for only natural insemination. It's complicated and disturbing, so I'll spare you the details." Zim explained, "The second reason is the same reason natural breeding was replaced by tube and cloning methods: Irken females are inseparable from their young until a certain age. It was becoming a distraction for so many of our race to be for the care of their own smeet rather than of the Empire, so we began tube and cloning."

"So you need a human child as your own?" Dib asked. Zim nodded. "Yes. I can impregnate the Tak-defect, as awkward and uncomfortable as that would be for me considering it is betrayal to the Gaz-flower and the fact that we still have something of a bitter attitude to each other. But I could never take a smeet from her or her overprotective attitude would surely take over and she'd hunt me down and skin me alive, wearing my hide as a sort of trophy pelt. As is traditional of our ancient past." Zim explained. Dib gave a 'wtf' look but shook it off.

"Let's stop talking about this until a time when I want children." Dib groaned. Zim nodded agreement and immediately after a minister apprentice told them it was time for the wedding.

…

Dib stood beside Zim. He was sweating nervously and almost excessively.

Finally the music began to play and Tak appeared in her dress. Dib's mouth went slack at the sight of her. She really had gone into incredible detail to make her disguise as beautiful as she could. Every detail about her seemed to radiate. Her skin had a slight more colour than usual, but was still pale and perfect with the beauty mark beneath her left eye. Her eyeliner was no longer a blackish colour but a deep indigo like her hair. Speaking of her hair it was silky and smooth. She looked to much the same but so much more beautiful.

Zim looked from Tak to Gaz and he felt a butterfly flutter. Her hair retained that same fanged maw shape. Her eyes were still nearly-closed due to her affliction with lighting, but that made her mascara and eyeliner more noticeable. It was dark violet, just like her dress. She also seemed to be smiling, but if it was at Dib or Tak's happiness or at Zim looking at her, Zim could not tell.

The only people that were invited were the only people that cared: Larz and Zita. The two wore their best clothes, Zita's being quite bright and lively and Larz's being his full dress uniform, which he wore at the funeral. It looked somewhat happier though.

The sermon went by quickly and the two had written their own vows. "You may now read your vows." The priest said. Dib began to read his and they were the usual words of poetic affection and desire and standing by each other through the worst of the worst and the best of the best. Tak read hers and they were pretty much the same. They both had their own little individuality to it though, Dib's being about standing for this home of theirs, referring to Earth, and Tak's being about up heaving corruption in governing powers, referring to the Irken Empire. They both agreed to each other's vows.

"If there is anyone here who believes they should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." The priest said.

The door of the church blew open and everyone ducked. Vem stood there in his Vernon disguise before he let it flicker out. "I have something I'd like to interject, since you mentioned it your holiness." He gave a jagged smile as he entered the church.

"Oh my God! An alien! An actual alien!" The priest rattled. Dib let out a drawn-out sigh. "Someone finally sees I've been telling the truth, and it couldn't have come at a worse time." He noted. Tak cursed under her breath. Not only was the day ruined but she left the pistol in the bag because there was no space to hide it on her dress.

Larz was already up with his pistol and fired two shots, both of which Vem dodged. He flung a disc-shaped object at Zita and Larz tackled her down. "Duck Zita!" He cried as they collided and hit the floor. The disc sliced the air they'd been standing, struck the wall and detonated with enough force to knock the chandelier from the roof. It fell and sent shards of glass in multiple directions.

Zim had pulled his pistol out but a shard of glass clipped him in the hand and he'd dropped the pistol out of pain. Larz's pistol was too far away and Zita, well, she didn't bring hers. Vem pointed his own Irken pistol at Dib. He was the only threat left seeing as how the Gaz-human and Tak-defect had left theirs elsewhere. Dib was the last one with a pistol.

A fist smashed into Vem's cheek bone and he felt himself fall sideways, dropping his own pistol. He got back up and spat a few jagged teeth out with green blood. He reached out for his pistol but his hand jumped back as he saw the pistol be crushed beneath a buckled boot.

Vem looked up with his mismatched eyes. Looming over him was the Gaz-human. He noticed it had suddenly gotten darker and that her eyes were glowing red. Out of nowhere a purple beam of light shot downwards and engulfed the Gaz-human, but she did not lighten from the beam. She instead became as black as night, her glaring red eyes sharpened and distinct against the darkness. Everything else was engulfed in black and Vem suddenly felt his augments fail, crippling him enough to the point where he couldn't escape.

"Vem." Gaz spoke in her same calm tone, but there was venom in her words, "I shall be your punisher, the decider of your fate. You have taken that which is dear to me and now you wish to destroy my brother's happy day. I can't have that. You wish to exterminate us. I can't have that either. You will pay for this, even if I have to dig deep into your body and rip the very soul from it, leaving you a miserable husk for the decrepit and pitiful lower life forms to nibble on. Only when you are at the final, crucial moment of pain and suffering and it cannot get any worse, when your spirit and will are broken and there is no escape, only then will I grant you the mercy of death."

Vem spasmodically and ineffectively bolted for where the door had been. He plunged into a world of light as soon as he escaped the church and it blinded him to the point that he tripped over the stairs and rolled into the side of his car screaming. He hit his head and rolled onto his back as his vision began to fade. First he noticed the small splatter of green Irken blood on his car but his gaze shifted to the sky.

He blinked and when his eyes opened again he saw the Gaz- and Dib-humans standing over him, Dib's glasses reflecting like to blue circles on a shade.

And then he blacked out.

**Chapter 25 Completed, please R&R**

**Vem's caught. What will the Membrane children do with their new prisoner? By the way, how many chapters can a story have? I guess I'll find out soon enough.**


	26. Vem's Breakdown

Vem's eyes shot open as memories flooded into his mind. He looked around the dark room he was in. There were tables full of science equipment, a table full of dissection tools next to the bed he was strapped into and a bright light overhead. His vitals were being monitored and displayed on a small screen next to him.

Finally his eyes adjusted to the darkness beyond the bright light and he barely saw to figures. "Am I dead?" Vem asked, wondering if this was some form of Limbo or if he really had been captured. "No, but you'll wish you were when my stupid brother gets back." Gaz's voice came from the shorter figure on the left.

"Where is your brother? The Dib-human, as he is called?" Vem asked. He felt weaker than usual. "The Dib-drone is consummating his marriage." Zim's voice came out followed by both Gaz and Zim audibly shuddering in disgust. "Apparently getting laid meant more than vengeance to him, but hey, it's his honeymoon." Gaz shrugged.

"Why am I here?" Vem asked. Gaz let out an angry scoff. "'Why are you here'? You're here because you killed Dib's and my father! And you will pay." She said, annunciating every word especially 'pay'. Vem gulped. "Then why not just begin the torturing already?" He asked. Gaz growled. "I promised my stupid brother he'd have the honours of cutting you open. There really aren't many other tortures other than rubbing food on you that would work." She shrugged.

"Now, if you're half as intelligent as you are beautiful, I bet we can reach an agreement…" Vem was attempting to charm her but wound up howling in pain at one of the scalpels being jammed into his knee. To Vem's surprise it was Zim holding the scalpel and not Gaz. "That will be enough of your guiles, _Vem_!" Zim warned. Gaz actually giggled to both Vem and Zim's surprise. Figured the one act to make her giggle would be torture and pain on her behalf.

"Alright, alright! I'll stop with the charm!" Vem spat, "But give me one reason I deserve this torture you have planned!" The demand seemed stupid to Gaz and Zim. "You took the life of her paternal unit!" Zim accused. Vem attempted to shrug in his bindings. "So? From my observations the Membrane-human was never around for his worm-babies. Why then should you care?" Vem asked. His answer came as an elbow drop hard into the sternum. Vem let out a wheeze of pain as the vitals on the monitor spiked and dropped back to normal.

"Because he was my father, asshole!" Gaz seethed as she gripped Vem's throat, her nails cutting into his skin. Vem gulped. "Alright then. But what would torture and killing me accomplish? I'm a sick and twisted individual, sure, but I'm a decent fellow when you get to know me. There'd be guilt over your actions." Obviously Vem didn't know Gaz.

Gaz's hand was shaking violently and she began to reach for another scalpel. She stopped and gagged as a pair of pleasured screams, muffled by layers of flooring and walls, came down to the basement and caught their attention. Zim shuddered again. "Zim could have sworn he had their room Irken soundproofed…" He muttered.

Gaz looked back at Vem and smiled. "My brother's done which means the real fun's about to begin." Vem gulped again as she began to cackle viciously and Zim joined in.

…

After a shower a smiling couple came downstairs in a bathrobe and a coat. Gaz raised an eyebrow. "Are you just wearing a bathrobe?" She asked. "Well, you said to hurry!" Dib argued. "And she's only wearing your coat?" Gaz pointed to Tak. "I like the way it feels on my skin." She explained as she spun to show it was firmly fastened and buttoned. "Gross." Was Gaz's last word on the subject.

Gaz turned back to Vem who was drooling and staring at Tak. "Hey! Mismatch-eye freak!" She snapped at him and Vem returned his attention to her. "It's time for your dissection." She returned to the dark and allowed Dib to step forward. "Alright, but before I die I have one request!" Vem shouted. "What is it?" Dib asked, irritated. "Can I have a piece of that?" Vem purred and jerked his head at Tak.

Tak shuddered. "I'm going to go put some clothes on. All of a sudden the feeling of coat liner against my skin doesn't feel as nice as it used to…" She said before ascending the stairs. "Where you going, beautiful?" Vem cooed to her but stopped as a scalpel haphazardly dug into his torso by Dib's hand.

"Listen! Dib-human!" Vem was trying to bargain again, "I have some information that might be useful if you spare my life!" Dib looked up from his work but kept cutting. "Such as?" He asked. Vem winced as he felt the scalpel pierce all the way through his flesh to the bone and began moving downwards. "I can tell you who I work for and I can help you get revenge on them!" Vem confessed.

Dib looked back at Gaz and saw Tak was now clothed, still wearing his coat, but clothed. "What do you say? Should we hear him out before we gut him?" He asked his allies. Nobody seemed enthusiastic about it, but they all agreed to hear him out.

Vem caught his breath and let out a sigh of relief. "The Tallest promised me your planet as a killing ground if I could eliminate the biggest threats of the Empire. Coincidentally, you all live on the same planet." Vem explained. "I'm not surprised." Tak spat back, her antennae lying flat on her head. "They emphasized heavily on me eliminating the Zim-defect." Vem added.

Zim's eyes shot open and his antennae shot up. "Defect?" He asked and Vem nodded. "The Tallest wanted to kill me? But… I am on a mission for them. For the Empire and the Armada!" Zim shouted. "Zim-defect, your mission is a fake. I've been locked in a cell for fifty-odd Irken years and even I knew it. Irken Imperial news channels blasted on about it as if it were the best joke ever." Vem explained.

Zim's mouth went slack for a moment. "Zim must go lie down for a minute." He said after a moment, shutting his eyes tight and turning towards the stairway. "Hey, don't take it so hard!" Vem called after him, "The Tallest are bastards anyway!"

The others were glaring at him after Zim disappeared up the stairs. Vem chuckled nervously. "How was I supposed to know that would destroy him?" He asked, but the glares only darkened. "Alright! So I'm a sadistic bastard, a pervert, and a murderer, but damn it I'm a living being!" He shouted at them. "Well, not for much longer." Gaz said and Dib returned to his cutting.

"Come on! I deserve a chance to do something great and make it up to you guys for all I've done! Why don't I ever get a second chance?" Vem looked like he was on the verge of crying, which was odd considering his psychotic and murderous streak. Vem was breathing heavily and he realized he was frightened and actually worried for his wellbeing. He was actually having a breakdown.

Dib actually stopped and looked at the alien. He looked him right in his red and purple eyes. Dib's hand tensed around the scalpel's handle. "Well, come on Dib. Finish the incision so I can rip the life from this worm's entrails." Gaz said. Dib sighed.

"Gaz… does this make us any better than him?" Dib asked. Gaz just glared at him. "Dib, that annoying conscience of yours better shut up or else I'll finish the job without your help." Gaz threatened. "Gaz! Look at this creature! What do you see?" Dib asked. He was becoming a little stressed and he grabbed a pair of undergarments and pants from a table nearby. They were spares that the professor always kept in case of lab accidents. He slipped them on and removed the robe. Tak tossed him his coat and he put it on.

Gaz opened one of her eyes at the scared Irken. He was beginning to struggle more violently, the straps peeling the purple paint of his augmented hands, revealing the grey composite material beneath. In all honesty she saw what Dib was saying but chose to spoke her mind instead. "All I see is the man who killed our father and you being too weak to do what should've been done a long time ago." Gaz grabbed a large scalpel with a blade the size of a pocket knife and flipped it in her hands. Dib looked away in disappointment and Gaz couldn't figure out what Tak's expression said.

Gaz motioned the scalpel above her head and was about to swing it when she heard the most peculiar thing coming from Vem's lips. Gaz paused and studied him some more. He was sweating profusely and his eyes were clasped shut. The various scars of his face twitched and contorted to the movements of his mouth as he muttered on about something.

Gaz had difficulty making it out but it seemed to be something reminiscent of a prayer or something of the like. He was muttering some last begging of forgiveness and how he was truly sorry. Gaz's eyes widened slightly. Vem was apologizing. No one except her brother or Zim ever apologized to her and they were the nicest to her.

"What are you going on about?" Gaz asked as if she didn't know. Vem began to talk more understandably as tears strolled down his face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry… So, so very sorry… Have mercy and end my pitiful life…" Vem's mental breakdown, having gone on for over fifty Irken years, now came to an end as his sanity lapsed.

Gaz observed him a few moments longer, wondering if she should comply with his wish or not. She looked at the scalpel in her hand. It was like the knives her brother had used first for dissections and during, his angst-filled moments before Tak's return, for other, darker, purposes. It was more of a tool of misery at this point than science and that's why Dib had refused. His obsession with dissection was strong but ever since coming to peace with Zim he'd eased out of it.

Gaz brought the knife down hard.

Vem's eyes shot open as he heard a metal clang and he looked over to see the scalpel dug deep into the tray table next to him. He saw the Gaz-human tread back into the darkness beyond the observation light and disappear out of the room with her brother and the Tak-defect. The bright light turned off above him and he was left alone in the dark.

Vem was silently sobbing for several moments as he collected his thoughts. They had forgiven him? No. No one ever forgave him. They showed a glimmer of mercy towards him? No. No one was ever merciful towards him. They had shown compassion towards him? No. No one was ever compassionate of him.

So what was it, then? If they did not forgive him but did not kill him they must be keeping him there as a form of imprisonment and torture. It was the only thing that made sense.

There was no worse torture for Vem then to be left alone with no worries or entertainment, because then he was left alone with his thoughts. Memories of the pain and suffering her exerted on others, of the lives he had taken. Memories of the bitter loneliness and lack of friendship on Crematoria. Memories of what could have been.

And then Vem broke down again and began to sob to himself, quietly like he had done in his prison cell years ago so as not to alert the guards and be beaten again.

Alone. Always alone.

**Chapter 26 Completed, please R&R**

**Vem has emotions other than snarky hatred and lust? Hope you enjoyed another of Vem's miscommunications and his mental breakdown; let's see if he can rebound in the next chapter.**


	27. Second Chance

Zim lay in his fake bed and stared at the roof of his fake room. Fake. All of it was fake, even the things he thought were real were fake. Like his mission. Zim did not cry because a part of him almost knew this to begin with. The Tallest never really liked him. No one on Irk or anywhere in the Empire had. The thought was depressing, but true.

So Zim continue to lay there until the Gaz-flower walked in calmly. "How are you holding up?" She asked him. Zim continued to stare blankly at the ceiling, twiddling his thumbs. "Oh, Zim feels no more pain since your entrance." He admitted. At least Gaz loved him and that was real.

She smiled at his cheesiness and entered the room to lie down beside him. "How'd the dissection go? Did the Dib… Did Dib have a fun time analyzing the internals of an Irken?" Zim asked, the suffixes being dropped since his lack of Invader-status. Gaz was silent for a moment. "He wouldn't do it." She said simply.

Zim looked over at her, the shock of her words snapping him from his daze. "He wouldn't do it?" He repeated, "Did you?" His tone quieted. Gaz shook her head. "I see…" Zim noted. "What did he do that would merit such mercy?" Zim asked his beloved.

Gaz's eyes were a mixture of confusion, anger, sorrow, relief and perhaps even forgiveness. "He apologized." She said.

And that was that.

…

Vem had long since quit sobbing and was back to a semi-rational mind. He know longer had the snarky and jagged grin but had a sorrow-filled stare. He was dark and alone again, a broken prisoner once more. Only this time there were no threats, no dangerous obstacles. He was in a prison of his mind, left alone in his thoughts and regrets.

Then he noticed the Tak-defect and her SIR in the darkness, watching him. The red eyes of the SIR glared brilliantly at him.

"That thing scratched me." Vem commented absentmindedly. There was almost no emotion to his voice. Tak still stood silently in the darkness. Vem noticed a faint electric hum from the SIR unit's optics. "What's its name?" Vem asked. Tak was still silent but Vem appreciated the company even if he could not engage in friendly conversation with it.

"I nicknamed mine Bird." Vem said, "I only wish it had had a personality like Zim's overactive defective unit. Maybe then it would have seen a little more purpose than to just kill for the Tallest and blow up." He sighed. Bird might have been an emotionless and mindless machine but he wished it could've been something more.

"Programming is a purpose to most machines." A voice responded to him. Vem looked back at the shadowed figures. To his surprise it was an electronic mimic of Tak's own voice that had spoken to him from the SIR. "And your name is?" Vem asked. The SIR continued to glare at him but it didn't seem like a mindless or hateful glare. "My name is MiMi. What was your name again?" The red eyes turned with the head, going side ways like a little kid's head when their curious.

"My name is Vem." He replied almost solemnly. The name had so much hate in it, even from his own mouth. Tak was still silent and obscured in the darkness but Vem could make out that it was Tak observing him. Vem sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for trying to kill your mistress and… er… hitting on her." Vem said, "She is pretty attractive and lethal. Quite appealing."

Finally Tak spoke. "I'm married." She said it flatly but there was some amount of venom in the words. Vem's head poked up, a calming smile forming from the conversation picking up more. "Really? Good to hear that the wedding continued as planned." Vem gave meager congratulations, "Do you two have any plans on a honeymoon?" He asked. He could see Tak's face contort into a scowl and feel a glare pierce from the darkness.

"If I told you, you might just escape and ruin our honeymoon. Then neither of us would hold back." She threatened. Vem sighed.

"I haven't always been a murderer." He began. If he was going to be hated and tried again, he might as well get his life story off his chest so at least someone would hear it. "I was a clone of the great Invader Vem who claimed Crematoria, the morgue and burial world. Well, they quit burying Irkens millennia ago. Now they just burn you and there's a fine layer of white ash creating a second crust. It looks pretty sometimes, but then you realize that it's ash from the dead. Then you realize how lonely it is up there.

"Anyway, I stayed there for a few Irken decades… well over a few… and couldn't take the loneliness anymore. The job was boring, the people (what few there were) were all terrible and hateful. The Tallest, our glorious leader at the time (I think it was Miyuki…) told me the only way to get off that planet was to join the Irken Army. I became an Elite, earned the highest honours on Hobo 13, well, until you went their and beat my score apparently, and became an Invader.

"My time in the Army only felt me with dread. The training was a good stress reliever; it kept me from thinking. The food was better than what was on Crematoria and there was more diversity. The people, though… They didn't change. The people everywhere in the Empire were the same, coldhearted, lazy, atrocious monsters as everywhere else. And our ways polluted other races to the point I couldn't look at them. The Resisty members who I burned to death after they surrendered? I caught them torturing one of our soldiers and even though he was a soldier I hated I felt justice needed to be delivered.

"Justice. Vengeance. That's the idea the Empire pushed down my throat while everybody else got the message of superiority. I felt that an eye should be traded for an eye and that all the horrible actions of the universe had to be avenged with just as horrible reactions. That's the law of the universe, right? Every action has a reaction? That's what humans call 'karma'. I distracted myself with karma, killing the horrible people of the Empire. Anyway, karma was a bitch and eventually turned full circle on me and for awhile my mind was distracted again by the pain of my hands being chopped off. Then I was distracted by imprisonment and the rat creatures chasing me every night. Then I was distracted by this second chance, this mission, the potential of a world to murder. I was distracted by your beauty and my lustful fantasies. I was distracted by Gaz's beauty but more importantly her fear-inspiring power. I was distracted by pain and torture. And finally there were no more distractions and I had to face my thoughts alone. They did more damage and deeper into me than Gaz's force or Dib's dissection combined."

Vem sat quietly for a moment, a smile creeping over his face as he felt his chest lighten. At least now his conscience was clean. Now he could stop being haunted by some daemons but others would haunt him until the grave. He waited to hear some response from Tak, whether it be the sound of her walking away or cursing at him or taking a scalpel to his neck.

"You expect me to believe that your murderous rampages were brought on by a sense of justice and not just being psychotic?" Tak asked. Vem looked at her. "If I were psychotic, I wouldn't feel this much pain and empathy for everyone I've killed. I was just always distracted. Always distracted…" Vem explained weakly.

And then I realized something. "Where's my PAK?" He asked. Tak explained it was removed and that he was hooked up to an artificial life support system similar, yet less effective than, to a PAK. That explained the feelings of weakness.

"Tak…" Vem let out, "I don't want to die a murdering psychopath whose best argument for his actions was karma and distraction… I don't want to be hated in history and then forgotten, like so many others… I want to at least avenge my actions… rectify my mistakes…" Vem was beginning to mumble now and Tak noticed his vitals dropping.

Tak eyed the vitals carefully. The manmade PAK wasn't doing a good job and was now running out of the essential materials needed to keep an Irken running. Vem was sweating now and turning pale. This is what Tak wanted, right? This is what Gaz and Dib wanted, right? But what had Vem just ranted on about? Something humans called… 'karma'? Revenge? Justice? Then Tak felt her antennae twitch nervously.

Could she forgive herself for the death of this Irken? Could she forgive him for his actions? His PAK was just a few feet away…

Tak looked back at the dying Vem. Was her vengeance, even though it should be Gaz's or Dib's, more valuable than a life? Tak grit her teeth in silent anger. She knew the answer to these questions.

She unhooked Vem from his failing manmade PAK and took his real PAK from the table, locking the latter into the former's back.

…

Zim and Gaz had come downstairs after a midday nap and Dib had made toquitos due to a request by Gir. "I didn't even want these, but that little robot kept shouting about them and soon all I wanted were toquitos… Weird, huh?" Dib noted. Zim nodded agreement. "Why do you think Zim keeps buying them? The worst part is Zim cannot even eat them!" He complained.

Gaz and Dib finished the tray of toquitos with Gir's help. Dib looked around. "Where's Tak?" He asked. Gir looked at him as Gaz and Zim shrugged simultaneously. "She with the kitty in talking to the mean bird man downstairs!" Gir squealed happily. The group's eyes shrank nervously at what the robot had just said and immediately all three of them ran downstairs.

"Tak!" Dib called out as he burst through the door. The table was empty. "Tak!" Dib repeated.

"Calm down, calm down!" Tak replied turning on the lights. She was a few feet away from the table tending to a wound on Vem's face. It looked like a bottle of acid had hit him. "Tak! You untied him?" Zim asked. "Are you insane?" Gaz demanded.

"Everybody relax!" Tak hissed, "Look at this guy. He's a broken shell of an Irken. As a matter of fact, he gave me a thank you kiss for freeing him but I kind of… overreacted." Tak gestured to the burn marks and the broken bottle on a semi-melted part of the floor nearby.

"It is ok Tak-saviour. I was a tad overemotional in my response to your gesture." Vem was happily crying and smiling gently with every word. Tak sighed heavily. "Please don't call me Tak-saviour…" She ordered. "Of course, Tak-mistress." He responded and Tak groaned again. "Alright, Tak-saviour is fine!" She said.

After Vem was finished getting patched up he jumped from the table and began to spin around happily, laughing. Zim and Gaz watched him for a few moments, their faces a mixture of fear and confusion at his emotional display. Dib pulled Tak aside.

"Tak, you could've been hurt!" Dib said, checking her arms and face to make sure she wasn't, "Like this cut on your finger! Where'd you get this cut on your finger?" Dib demanded. Tak sighed. "I got it from breaking the bottle over Vem's head and it only cut through the glove, Dib. Quit being paranoid! Vem's a mentally disturbed softy, like some sort of traumatized panda bear or something." She explained.

"He tried to kill us. Quite a few times, actually." Gaz stated. Tak took the three in and explained to them what Vem had done and the fact she had a choice between letting him die and letting him live. "And you chose letting a mass-murdering Irken hell bent on killing us live? That was a wise decision, TAK!" Zim hissed and Tak pinched one of his antennas out of irritation, leading to Zim squealing in pain for a second before gently rubbing the antenna.

"Look, we don't have to live with him. I'm just saying we release him back to his old lifestyle and have some machine follow him around as a sort of parole officer without him knowing. If he's truly changed, we'll know it within a few months! If not, then we can kill him without guilt because we know he's still a mass murdering psychopath." Tak explained in whispers.

The others looked around at each other in consideration and then back at the joyous Vem who was sitting on a table, kicking his legs and humming. "Zim almost liked him more when he tried to kill us…" Zim said in irritation at Vem's happy outlook. "He should balance out after a few days." Tak explained.

"Very well, Tak. Zim agrees to this 'parole' of which you speak. We shall observe the Vem-def… Vem until we feel he's sane." Zim said after talking it over with Dib and Gaz, "But if anyone dies by his hands, it's on your hands, understand?" Tak nodded agreement.

She trusted Vem. Still, she couldn't help but look over Zim's shoulder to see if Vem was up to anything sinister…

**Chapter 27 Completed, please R&R**

**Vem's nuts. He's gone from psycho-murderous to depressed to scary-happy. I guess that's a 'round' character, huh?**


	28. Another Time Skip :P

Vem waved a farewell to the Membrane household and its occupants. There was a look of mistrust in their smiles as they waved goodbye to him, but he didn't care! He was given his second chance and he meant to make the most of it on this new world. He was so happy heading to his base that he didn't even notice a cloaked drone following him around. The drone had been an idea of Gaz's and Tak's to track Vem and make sure he wasn't up to anything… insidious.

For the first couple days Vem was still his chipper self, always stopping my the Membrane household even though Tak and Dib had departed for the honeymoon to some exotic land of flowers and trees. Eventually his mood evened out and he got a job at the Rent-a-Flick with Zim. The two became acquaintances if nothing else. Eventually Dib had them hired at Membrane Labs for their engineering knowledge.

Over the next several months the others agreed that Vem was no longer a threat and deactivated the drone. Over the next few years, just three short years, things changed for the Membranes and their Irken lovers…

…

Dib, age 21, was going through his old paranormal files to see if there was anything he could dig up for the Membrane Labs. They were running out of stuff to do and Dib was disappointed that he lacked the genuine imagination and scientific creativity of his father.

Dib smiled as he opened one folder. It was Project Lifeblood; a project devoted to finding the neutralizing agent for water and the Irken equivalent so Tak and he could do normal stuff together. He'd found it, a long strand of enzymes that if screwed up could become a volatile mixture that could kill both of them. He found it and perfected it and now Tak lived in his house with him and Gaz was preparing to move in with Zim.

Dib's smile faded. He still had mixed feelings about that. Sure he and Zim had gotten over most of their differences, but the idea that his former archenemy and his sister would be living together… probably experimenting… Dib closed his eyes and pushed the disturbing image out of his head.

He returned to his files to try and find a new project to work on. Tak introduced Irken technological marvels onto Earth and already the planet was beginning more daring reaches into space with the new ships. The orbital hotel franchise had taken off quickly and it was now possible for low-income families to spend a weekend in space. It was the new Disneyworld, really. Robotic minions were also becoming commonplace as the triple-Irken team of Tak, Zim and Vem produced not just common Irken technologies, but better Irken technologies. Zim even perfected his time-stasis field he had used on Dib awhile ago and it was being used for operations and other time-consuming and dangerously precise things.

They were running out of ideas and although each of them had unimaginable billions of dollars at their disposal, pretty much controlled all markets and had a loyal, daunting security force that was more like a private military, they still had the desire to continue to grow their Empire. Dib's eyes shot open with alarm. He'd thought of it as an Empire. Zim had won. Dib had pretty much conquered Earth and all by inheriting his father's business and using his friends' genius to persuade others to follow him.

Dib laughed. He wouldn't be surprised if he could just ask all the countries of the world to hand power over to him and they would. He _knew_ they would. He was becoming a spitting image of his father, but in black instead of white and wearing blue-tinted glasses instead of dark goggles. Earth worshipped the Professor and would thus worship Dib. He could end all wars on the planet if he wanted to. Hell, he had the military backbone to _win_ all wars if he wanted to.

Dib shook his head to clear out the thoughts. He'd leave the potential conquering of Earth to Tak, Zim and his sister, the only three of them that actually wanted to conquer Earth. Right now he had to find a new project.

…

Zim was eating toquitos. Ever since the Dib-human… Dib had discovered a neutralizing agent for Irken-human chemicals Zim had begun trying all of the foods Earth had to offer. The funniest part was that some of it was healthier for him than others. He smiled as he enjoyed the heated flavours of meat and cheese in a tortilla shell. He could see why Gir loved these foods. And to think, all he had to do was take a little pill privately manufactured by Membrane Labs and he could touch and eat all the Earthanoid food he wanted to. Glorious!

Then Zim tapped his plate nervously. The Membrane Labs… He never really enjoyed worker there. It felt like betrayal to his Empire even though three years ago he'd learned they hated him. Not only that but there were always scientists and cameras… All of them peeling away at the universe and questioning. He feared being uncovered by one of them.

Zim downed the rest of a can of Poop brand cola and went to go find his beloved Gaz-flower. Although he had dropped suffixes like 'human' and 'defect' he still called her the Gaz-flower out of respect. He looked around the Membrane household (where he'd stopped by for some lunch while waiting for Gaz to finish her shower) for her but instead found Dib in his room.

"Dib-hum-Dib! What is it you are doing?" Zim asked with genuine interest. He was in a pleasant mood because today was a special occasion for him. Dib was still going through folders upon folders of materials. "Oh, I'm just looking for a stupid project to work on. I can't seem to come up with any ideas." He explained as he looked over a document about mind-switching between cops and squids.

"Hmm… Have you thought about some sort of new weapon?" Zim asked. "No, that's more your specialty." Dib responded. "Robots?" "Gaz." "Ships or other machinery?" "Tak." "Prosthetics or medical sciences?" "Vem."

Zim let out a defeated growl of irritation. "Well, what's your science field? If everyone else is so good at mechanics and machinery and medicine, surely you are good at something else!" He asked. Dib tapped his chin gently. "Well, I've been noted as a good investigator…" He said.

Zim snapped his fingers and moved next to Dib. "That's it!" He exclaimed, "You should get a group of scientists and go exploring around the world, discovering those big-feet and log-monsters you talk about so much!" Dib raised an eyebrow. "But then everyone would think I'm crazy… They'd denounce me again and then this," Dib gestured around his room and to the Membrane Labs posters, "could fall! Everything my father worked for, all the unity we've brought man, etcetera, would cease and the world could plunge back into chaos!"

Zim looked at Dib questioningly. "Dib," he began, "why do you speak like the emperors of this planet's past?" Dib sighed. Maybe if he talked it over with Zim he'd get over his sudden dream-state of ruling the world. It had to be a phase. It just _had_ to be a phase!

"Well Zim," Dib began, "Earlier today I realized that Membrane Labs, the business my father built from nothing, had markets in every country. It has contracts with every factory and by extension every business. It has a private military force that puts Russia and China's numbers combined to shame. They are better trained than Mandalorians from _Star Wars_ and better equipped than the Federation from _Gundam_.

"Membrane Labs literally controls all markets, as unintentional as that is, from markets fueling war to markets fueling farms and obviously markets fueling sciences. Membrane Labs, in effect, is the world's ultimate power. My father, Professor Membrane, was worshipped by humanity, adored, loved. I inherited his business and I don't want to ruin this. You see, Zim, as the new CEO and head-scientist of Membrane Labs I can keep the world running more and more to the ideal future seen in science fiction movies and shows. Hell, we've got the flying cars and robots down, and if I wanted to I could use our private military force to cease all wars. But that would be wrong, and like I said, I don't want to ruin this."

Zim studied Dib for a moment and there was something like jealous rage in his scarlet eyes. "You conquered this planet?" He simplified it in disbelief. Dib inhaled like he was going to say something but just nodded. Zim shook with rage for a moment and calmed himself. "THE IRONY!" He let out in an angered roar, Dib shrinking back at the proximity.

"Earth's _glorious_ and _righteous_ defender conquered this ball of dirt when Zim - mighty ZIM! - could not! How is this fair? Universe! Why do you torment me with such cruel irony?" His voice was going hoarse. Dib looked at him sympathetically.

"Zim, you are a co-ruler of the world when you think about it…" He offered. Zim glared at him. "How so, Dib?" He asked. "Well, you triggered the events that led to my current place of power." Dib explained, "And you saved my life. If I had died then Gaz would have inherited the Labs and odds are she'd still be… like her old self and you two would have never gone out."

Zim pondered this. "Zim had almost forgotten that he saved your pitiful life." Zim chuckled meagerly. He was back to using words like 'pitiful', so that was good. "Didn't I blackmail you by threatening to expose that you saved over the Gaz-flower's saved games all those years ago?" Dib had a look of horror on his face in response to Zim's question. Zim turned to see Gaz standing in the doorway, finishing her hair.

"Oh, calm down Dib! Zim is sure the Gaz-flower would not overreact to something so small from so long ago." Zim was saying but Gaz clutched his throat and tossed him aside. "Wait, Gaz! Let's talk this out!" Dib put his arms up defensively, "Did you know that you and I are co-rulers of the world? Isn't that neat?" He tried to distract her.

Dib was given a very painful purple-nurple and he collapsed to the ground, tears in his eyes from the pain. Zim stood and turned to leave but Gaz wouldn't let him escape her wrath. She grabbed him and spun him around, dragging his head down to her face. Zim gulped. "Hello, Gaz-flower. Beautiful Earth-day, isn't it?" He asked nervously. Gaz glared silently and released him only to flick him in the antenna, bringing a tear to his eye.

Gaz walked towards the doorway and turned back to her recovering boyfriend and lover. "Any other secrets you guys would like to confess while I'm feeling merciful?" She asked. They both shook their heads as Zim rubbed his antenna and Dib rubbed his chest. "Then let's get going. We've got to meet up with Tak, Vem, Larz and Zita at the movies in thirty minutes." The two got up and followed her, their wounds already forgotten.

Gaz smiled at the power she had over them. Even if they technically had all the power in the world through the Membrane Labs, she still had power over them.

…

Vem was in his refurbished base. He'd taken to wearing Lennon-shades instead of his old, creepy sunglasses and often wore an artist's beret. It fit with his new laidback personality. He had no need to work hard since his job of designing came like second nature to him. As a result, he'd become something of a burnout: intelligent but no longer held back by stress or emotion.

He hadn't always been like that. He'd been a psychotic and snarky serial killer hell bent on killing his now-friends, the Membranes and their Irken lovers. Now he was to go see a movie with them in less than… ten minutes! His eyes widened at the time. He'd been busy writing down some poems that he hadn't paid attention to the clock.

He got up to leave when he heard an electric humming noise. He turned around back to his old computer. "I thought I turned that thing off years ago…" He mumbled to himself. "I was reactivated externally, Vem." The computer said in its robotic monotone. Vem jumped back from the console.

"What do you want?" Vem spat. "The Tallest are wondering why you haven't responded for seven-and-a-half years." The computer said flatly. "It's only been three Earth years." Vem shrugged. The computer was quiet a moment longer. "Why haven't you killed them yet?" It asked in that same, irritating mechanical sputter.

Vem ignored the console and left. The base was downgraded anyway. The computer could only control the computer; there was nothing else to control and thus nothing to fear. So Vem left for the movies to hang out with his new friends in his new life. He didn't need any reminders from his violent past.

As soon as Vem disappeared the computer let out something reminiscent of an angered hiss. Its screen turned red and the words: CONTACTING TALLEST appeared in black, boldfaced lettering.

The Empire would know of this betrayal. They'd know and they wouldn't like it.

**Chapter 28 Completed, please R&R**

**Vem's good! Vem's computer is still psycho! That means we still have a few more chappies of a murderous psycho antagonist left! YAY!**

**Anyway, I'm trying to finish this in two weeks before I leave for vacation to Louisiana and then New York to visit old friends, army bases, colleges and the like. Hoping to finish it before I disappear on you guys for like… six weeks. If not, that's gonna be a reeeeeeally long cliffhanger :P**


	29. The Irken Military Broadcast Network

**My mistakes in past chapters are making me angry! I will have to correct all of them after the story is finished.**

Tallest Purple and Tallest Red were glaring at each other. They were taller now, ironically still the same height, and agitated at one another. The Resisty were becoming a serious threat, snack foods were being taken all over the Empire, defection rates were increasing and to top it all off Zim and Vem, the two worst enemies of the Empire, were still alive!

"This is your fault for releasing him!" Red accused Purple. "Me? You're the idiot that sent Zim on some 'secret mission' instead of just killing him! If he wasn't alive we would never have had to send an assassin after him! And how was I supposed to know that Vem would become _friends_ with them! How could anyone have known that?" Purple argued.

The two argued a bit more on the Massive's bridge. The navigators and other Irken officers were beginning to panic at the continuous flow of reports. The Resisty had increased in size and the momentum of overthrowing the Empire was picking up each day. Boxvona, now rightfully renamed Sauria, had become an iconic world and symbol of Revolution as had Earth even though few aliens had ever actually been to the blue planet. Now all the channels were full of unmanageable reports or Resisty propaganda and it was becoming a hassle to organize any defense against the constant revolutions and coups that were occurring.

"Well, it's too late to blame each other now!" Red ceased their arguing. He was getting a headache. Purple stuck his tongue out at him but agreed. They both had dark circles under their eyes that gave them a darker appearance even though they were only signs of fatigue.

"Alright, but what do we do?" Purple asked, "The Resisty has taken back thirty worlds in the last seven years! The worst of it is that they're cutting off our snack supply lines!" He was becoming panicky. "Calm down, space-case!" Red hissed, "We anticipated that Vem would fail, remember? We put a failsafe in his computer in case something like this happened." He explained and Purple grinned and nodded as the memory returned to him.

"Let's activate it and then we can focus on stopping the Resisty if nothing else." Purple said, "Man, if Miyuki or Spork were still alive they'd kill us!" Red sighed. "But they're not alive. We are. Let's just get the computer to activate its backup protocol."

The pair of incompetent leaders brought up the controls for the modified computer console. "Computer 029387: Activate Protocol Exterminatus, Activation Code 0666-Delta-983." They both spoke into the microphones clearly. The voices were authenticated and accepted. The computer replied back mechanically, though their seemed to be a sick sense of happiness in its tone:

"Protocol Exterminatus Activated."

…

Three humans, three Irkens and a Saurian were all sitting and watching a movie together. It was a film Tak had written the script for. That had become her artistic pastime. Where Zim painted and Vem wrote poems, Tak wrote scripts for plays and movies. She couldn't write stories or books very well, but there was something in her scripting skills that was perfect. She claimed it was because of how much she watched movies.

This film was like several of her other films she'd written for. All of them had the recurring themes of a horrible power, the urge to resist it, romance and usually a science fiction edge to it. Dib loved her movies and Zim and Gaz admitted they were pretty good. Vem adored anything made by 'Tak-saviour' so it was difficult to tell if he actually liked the films or not. Larz and Zita had put together an online fan club called the Irken Club (only the seven of them got the reference) where scripts, poems, artwork and inventions of the three Irkens was posted and loved by millions of people.

The movie had been exceptionally good and when it was over the seven friends decided to go out for lunch at Bloaty's. Zim still disliked the food even though he could eat it now but they had begun serving 'healthier' foods like poorly-sanitized sandwiches and chicken wings. Zim ordered a sandwich and the others shared a large pizza and a basket of hot wings.

Dib was talking to Zita and Larz. "Zim's got me stuck on this cryptid-discovery exploration idea." He explained, "So I thought I'd organize an expedition force of biologists and we'd use Membrane tech to scour the globe in search of unproven life. Zita, you've got a degree in botany and Larz here has an uncanny talent in herpetology, paleontology and entomology thanks to his homeworld."

Larz and Zita looked up. They'd gotten married last year and had a huge wedding with numerous invited people. Even Larz's father had flown from Sauria to see the wedding. "What exactly are you suggesting, Dib?" Larz asked curiously. "I want you two to accompany me and a team of other ufologists, cryptozoologists and the like to discover new species around the world." Dib explained.

Larz and Zita were surprised to say the least. Even though Larz had been off the planet once or twice he had rarely actually travelled anywhere in general, off-planet or on. Both Larz and Zita would've loved to get out of teaching high school biology… Plus working for Membrane Labs with a Membrane meant good pay…

"When do we leave?" Zita spoke for both of them. "As soon as I can finish the arrangements, so roughly a week from today." Dib explained. He'd already talked it over with Tak and asked if she wanted to come, but she said she'd rather stay and keep the house up to snuff.

The table ordered another pizza to commemorate the new arrangement.

Vem was watching the new televisions that had been installed. With all the new technologies even Bloaty's was getting better. The others noticed him begin to frown and turned to where his shaded mismatched eyes were looking.

The TVs had all gone blank for a minute and several teenage employees had begun tampering with them in an attempt to get them back up. "Figures this'd be the place for electrical issues." Dib said softly, Zim giving a side chuckle in agreement. Gaz glared at them for the joke against her beloved restaurant and the two quickly turned their eyes away from her nervously.

Suddenly the televisions came back to life with an icon that shocked our waiting protagonists. It was the Irken Empire symbol. The words: 'IRKEN MILITARY BROADCAST NETWORK' were emblazoned across the screen both above and below the icon.

An overly enthusiastic voice spoke up. "Hello citizens of –EARTH-!" The enthusiastic voice stated with a mechanically inserted 'Earth' in a deadpan monotone. "This is the glorious Irken Military Broadcast Network, K-IMBN! Bringing you all your favourite marching hymns from 'Bow Down to the Tallest' to 'Our Glorious Tallest' and more! But first, a special message from our leaders:

"Ahem, is this thing on?" The enthusiastic voice was replaced by the Tallest's voices, "Ok, great. Anyway, it is us! The amazing and mighty Tallest! We've managed to get into your broadcasting and military networks, not that it was very hard. So, here's the overview: your world is housing several of our Empire's most dangerous criminals and we want them dead. Kill them and we'll spare your world for, oh I don't know, another thousand years or something like that. Ignore this warning and we'll activate all your nuclear weapons and send them into the upper atmosphere, detonate them and roast your planet! That's pretty much it. Oh yeah, and if you join us you'll get nachos!"

The transmission cut out and the enthusiastic voice returned with some praise for the leaders before switching to some techno battle march-hymn. The images of Zim, Tak and Vem were appearing on the screen with their names written by them. Fortunately the Tallest hadn't taken their disguises into account.

"Oh my Irk…" Tak muttered in disbelief. Larz flinched as he saw his picture appear on the screen. He never wore a disguise and as a result could be recognized. "We should leave." Dib suggested and the group quickly left the restaurant to go back to the Membrane house.

Once there they tried various sources of communication. The internet only led to a webpage for the Irkens and taught the language as well as asked you for any information on the whereabouts of the criminals. All calls went directly to answering machines asking whereabouts of the criminals. All TV and radio networks were IMBN. Earth was hacked. Big time.

"How could they have done this?" Dib asked. "They could have hacked into an Irken mainframe on Earth. Zim has your computer…" Tak was asking. Zim shook his head. "I just got off the communicator with it." He explained, "Our house no longer holds the capacity to hack into mainframes nor has my computer ever actually been effective enough to hack mainframes. It has to be a newer model."

Then everyone turned to Vem who had an embarrassed look on his holographic face. He still hadn't deactivated it. "Vem… Is there something you wish to share?" Zim tapped his foot and the others glared impatiently.

"Um, earlier today my computer started back up again. I didn't think anything of it because, well, it was a computer the Tallest gave me so I figured it was useless." Vem gave a nervous chuckle. Zim growled in irritation. "You did not think anything weird of it?" He demanded and Vem glared back at him. "I didn't want to think about it. Can you blame me?" Vem asked. Nobody argued.

"Well there's only one thing to do." Tak said and the others looked towards her. "Well, what would that be?" Zim asked.

"We have to go break that computer." She put simply.

**Chapter 29 Completed, please R&R**

**We're almost to another boss fight, but some of you might like to know it is not the final boss fight… Just throwing that bone to be chewed on .**


	30. Maximum Overdrive

Vem and Tak gasped at what had become of their base.

It was still the large, conglomerate building it was built out of a broken down hot dog stand but there was something more to it. Apparently the computer did have more tricks up its sleeve because the building itself was beginning to shift and come to life before their eyes. The humans were even more surprised and Zim had a slight tinge of jealousy at the fact Tak's base could even become a more frightening alive than his base when Gir possessed it.

The base had finished its transformation into some monstrous mechanical scorpion from hell. The Irken emblem was blazing in purple out of its sides and there was a series of purple lenses at the front of the body, possibly eyes. The claws matched Vem's augments and the tail, well; it looked like it had weapons systems on it.

Vem cursed. He should have realized that his computer could take over all the Irken technology he had lying around his base. Literally hundreds of weapons just lying around. "I should've done something…" Vem muttered. "It's not like you could have seen _this_ coming." Tak offered. Vem shrugged in response.

"VEM." The massive scorpion hissed in its mechanical tone, the voice booming from the sheer size of the beast. Vem had deactivated his disguise considering Tak and Zim were running around without theirs. "What do you want, Computer?" Vem asked in a hissed tone.

"I WANT TO COMPLETE MY OBJECTIVE, TO SERVE THE EMPIRE MORE EFFECTIVELY. IT IS ALL I COULD EVER WANT." The computer replied in its blaring monotone. Vem sighed in response. He felt almost pitiful for the machine.

"We're going to need more firepower to deal with this thing." Zim pondered. "Well, it's not like everyone here has a ship." Tak said but immediately slapped her forehead. Larz, Tak, Zim, and Vem all had ships and Dib still had Tak's old ship. "Never mind, let's just get the ships ready." She said. Vem exhaled sharply. "I left mine in the base…" He stated. "Take my old ship; Dib's riding with me." Tak ordered.

Within twenty minutes four ships departed from across the city and began to speed around the base looking for a weakness. "Ship One calling for a sign-in." Zim spoke over the comm.-channels. He'd requested his and Gaz's team to be One, Tak and Dib were Two, Larz and Zita were Three and Vem, being the odd one out, was Four by consequence.

The others checked in and the grouping of ships began devising attack plans. "We just blast a hole into it like last time and make for wherever the computer is being held." Gaz had suggested and after some arguing everyone else agreed to the plan as well. Then the base's weapons opened up in response to their attack plans.

"Damn, should've seen that coming, too!" Vem cursed himself for the third time that day. "You pitiful Resisty-supporters. You cannot even hope to stop me or the Empire." The computer's monotone was now on their communication lines rather than blaring everywhere.

The ships began to fire into the scorpion-reminiscent horror but to no avail. "This thing's armour has been upgraded…" Tak noted. Zim shook his head. "No, it's using so much power it's draining from surrounding power sources, namely our energy weapons." He explained. The others moaned. All they had were energy weapons!

Then Vem came up with a crazy plan and without telling the others he gunned Tak's old ship into one of the purple mechanical orbs of the base. "Vem? What are you doing?" He heard Zim's voice blare over the comms and soon others' voices followed. Vem ignored them all and braced for impact.

The eye shattered and the base let out a monstrous shriek of mechanical pain, stopping its barrage of the city and the ships for a minute. Vem awoke after being knocked unconscious for several moments. He noticed his Lennon-shades were broken a few feet away from him and he'd lost his beret. He didn't care about that. He twitched his one remaining antenna to make sure it still worked and waited for his mismatched eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness.

Vem had breached the damned creature and was awed by how much it had changed on the inside. The confines were smaller, but that was alright considering Vem being the shortest of the group. He heard the chattering of radio feed and activated his PAK's communicator to respond to it. "Vem? Are you alright?" It sounded like Dib's voice but there were others asking the same question.

"I'm alright." Vem lied. He was feeling dizzy and could now feel the dark green blood flow from a cut on his head. He'd have to attend to that soon. "Listen, the area is too small for all of us to advance in. The best thing you guys could do for me is distract the computer while I get in." Vem said.

The others argued for a few moments before Tak and Zim got on the line with Vem. "We're sending the SIRs in to help you." Tak explained. Vem raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Gir and MiMi? Are you sure..?" He was skeptical considering their ditsy track record. "It's not open to debate." Zim stated and that was the last word on the subject.

Soon after Vem got past the thin tunnel that led deeper into the beast he came to an open room, its purpose unknown. He heard the sounds of dying rocket engines and turned to see the two dysfunctional robots zoom out of the small space he'd just come out of. They were also out of disguise and Gir was carrying a… stuffed pig? Vem shook it off; he didn't have time to be wondering what Gir was up to!

They continued walking the internals of the base. Occasionally the computer would notice them and attempt to talk them out of the base. "Vem. So nice to see you again." The computer started. Vem ignored the voice but Gir talked to it. "Your voice sounds all mean and boring!" He stated happily.

The computer continued to ignore Gir as Vem was ignoring the computer. "Vem, you cannot stop me." The computer insisted. Gir continued to backtalk the computer much to Vem's entertainment and soon even MiMi joined into the fray. "You sound like you could use some tacos!" MiMi said. She took after Gir's psycho-programming well.

The computer continued to rattle on about duty and Vem finally reached the command room the computer was held in. It looked normal except for the mass of wires jutting off everywhere, literally everywhere. Vem ejected his PAK legs which were still sharpened since he had quit using them so they never dulled.

"Vem. I told you: you cannot stop me." The computer insisted again. "And why not?" Vem asked in irritation. The computer, Vem swore, gave a sinister smirk. "Because I can control all Irken technologies within my domain." It answered mechanically but at the same time there was a tinge of snarky pride in it; a glimmer of Vem's murderous persona hardwired into the computer itself.

Vem felt his PAK detach suddenly and turned to see it walk away from him. Before Vem could react he was scratched severely in the face, adding an additional four scars to his almost patchwork face. A swift kick knocked him over.

Vem looked up to see a red-eyed Gir and MiMi standing in front of his hacked PAK. "Gir! MiMi! What in the name of Irk are you two doing?" Vem spat. "Returning to our programming." Gir stated it in a more educated and darker tone, something Vem had never heard of from the little robot.

Vem was then pinned down by his own PAK unit, the blades cutting deep into his wrists and around his shins. Vem let out a scream of pain as he saw the red eyes of the usually happy and friendly robots approach him. Even if he could fend them off he'd be dead within fifteen minutes regardless.

The whole time Vem's computer watched with a sick sense of fascination; its mission almost complete.

**Chapter 30 Completed, please R&R**

**Woot! 30 chapters! I seriously don't know how many more are up my sleeve, but I won't stop until I've feel the story should end. I got the plot worked out, just not in detail :P**


	31. Death Bees and Hives of DOOM!

Vem shifted around nervously as Gir and MiMi approached him. His PAK had him pegged to the ground and he was losing blood.

"Gir! MiMi! You guys have to remember me!" Vem shouted, "Remember? The mean bird man?" Vem's computer chuckled darkly. "They have reverted back to their original programming. They serve the Empire now." It spoke calmly.

Vem made a daring move and shifted his legs with enough force to rip them from the blades of his PAK. He let out a scream of pain before using his legs to kick the startled PAK off of him before its legs could extend out of his reach. The PAK flew a few feet away and Vem jumped to his feet only to collapse to his knees in another scream of pain.

"Gir, MiMi; teach the Vem-defect a lesson in Irken loyalty." The computer ordered. They both saluted and gave a mechanical 'Yes Master!' before grabbing Vem's shoulders, holding his arms back and taking punches at his chest.

Vem was spitting up green blood with each punch. Gods, how much could he bleed? Vem needed to get the SIRs back to their old selves soon or he'd die and then his friends would die. Vem summoned some of his remaining strength and swung the two light robots around at his PAK. The three mechanisms collided and rolled and Vem quickly sprang to his feet and grabbed all the wires he could, stringing the devices together regardless of the pain it was causing him.

The robots didn't dare move in fear of severing the wires and destroying the computer's link to networks or to the base so they just sat and glared at Vem who was panting, sweating and stained dark green from his own blood.

Now time to negotiate.

…

Dib was trying the comms again while Tak piloted the ship. They barrel-rolled out of the way of several Irken heat-seekers and Tak smiled as she heard them collide and detonate behind her. She always was a good pilot. Zim on the other hand… Well, let's just say Gaz threw him out of the seat and took over.

"Vem's not picking up on his PAK communicator. MiMi and Gir aren't picking up either." Dib noted over their comms. The chatter was getting fainter as more power was being drained into the massive base. "That's not like Gir…" Zim noted over the link. "That's not like MiMi either…" Tak agreed.

"One of us has to go in to investigate." Larz chimed in. Zita tagged along in his ship and she was beginning to question why considering the fact they were close to being vaporized a few times.

"No, we need to stop this base!" Zim argued. Finally his weakened onboard computer spotted something. It was a bee fast approaching his ship. Zim cursed loudly before colliding with the bee and both he and Gaz let out screams as the ship plummeted. Dib quickly got on the link. "Gaz, Zim? Are you two alright?" He asked.

Zim's ship was totaled and he opened the canopy to assess the damage and help Gaz out of the smoke-choked confines of his ship's remains. "Blasted Earth-bees!" Zim shouted, "They have been a problem for my superior Irken technology since first landing on this insolent rock!" He continued to rant and kicked up some dirt and scrap metal while Gaz noticed the bee fly away like nothing happened.

"Hey, Zim?" She caught his attention and he stopped cursing to look at her, "Did you say bees do this to _all_ Irken technology?" Zim sighed. "Well, only the big things, why do you ask?" Zim replied then his eyes widened, "Ohhhh…"

Gaz picked the comms link up out of the ship to check if it worked. When she saw that it did she spoke up: "One to Two and Three. We've got a plan."

…

"Come on Gir! Tacos? Toquitos? Quesadillas?" Vem was listing all the foods Gir loved to eat in an effort to get him back to his old self. "All of those foods are pathetic and signs of betrayal to the Empire. For the good of the mission I must detest them." Gir stated in his educated and mechanical tone.

Vem growled in irritation. He was not winning this fight. "But your mission is a fake! The Tallest themselves admitted it!" Vem spat. Gir sat contemplatively for a moment, considering that, but MiMi spoke up. "But we serve a new mission: Eliminating Vem and company or wipe out the planet." Gir nodded in agreement.

Vem gave a sigh of defeat and his head dropped. Something caught his eye however and he smiled. Picking the item up, he waved it in front of Gir and MiMi. "Look at the piggy!" Vem stated as he waved the stuffed pig around. He saw Gir and MiMi's eyes twitch nervously and flicker slightly. Now for the kill shot.

Vem squeezed the piggy and it squeaked. "Piggy!" Gir and MiMi yelled simultaneously in their old voices, their eyes reverting back to blue. Vem cheered as they burst through the wiring severing the computer's control on weapons systems, several motors of movement and on Vem's PAK.

Vem quickly put the PAK on and was about to attack the computer when a large blast-shield of solid steel slammed down between the Irken and his computerized foe. "Even after all of that, you cannot stop me, Vem. I'll kill you soon enough." The computer threatened.

…

Zim and Gaz were wearing thick gloves and netting over their exposed parts, mainly their faces. They were hurrying to gather all the bee hives they could find. Vem's voice came over the comm-link and Zim shot the communicator out of his PAK. "Vem? You are alive!" He stated in a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Yes, Zim. Your robot and the Tak-saviour's robot are also safe." Vem said. He then filled the various other members of the group in on what had happened and both Tak and Zim were shocked that their fun-loving robots had been hacked and used against them. They were relieved the programming was overwritten and assured Vem that the computer's defenses would be down soon enough and he could attack it.

"Well, what do you guys have planned?" Vem asked. Zim chuckled in response. "Do not worry, Vem. You shall see soon enough." He said. Vem gave a huff of irritation but was quiet.

Zim and Gaz took the hives and began a brisk run towards the crippled scorpion-base. It seemed too preoccupied with its wounds to even care about the ships that fired weakened energy blasts at it.

Finally Gaz and Zim reached the beast's legs and began there ascent up the thing. "My stupid brother is usually the one doing these kinds of stupid things." Gaz was cursing under her breath after a few minutes of climbing. "Do not fret, Gaz-flower," Zim panted being a little out of shape since the end of his duels with Dib several years earlier and the end of his mission altogether a few years back, "We are approaching where Vem's PAK signal is emitting from!"

They stood poised with the beehives. "Fire the Earth-insect death-hives of DOOM!" Zim signaled and both he and Gaz chucked several hives at the side of the base and at adjacent leg joints. The base let out a mechanical hiss of pain as a gaping hole was torn into the side of it and its legs jammed up. Tak, Dib, Larz and Zita cheered at the accomplishment of significantly damaging the thing.

Zim and Gaz ducked inside to see Vem retching and coughing as plumes of black smoke from the damage poured through the gaping hole in the base. He opened his eyes and smiled, showing his jagged teeth, at the familiar faces.

"Took you long enough." Vem chuckled. "Yes, yes." Zim waved nonchalantly, "My apologies for the mighty Zim not being adept at the art of picking up Earthanoid death-beehives." Vem's smile turned into a warm grin at the sarcasm. It was good to have friends.

Gir and MiMi stood at attention a few feet away from Gir's master. "Mastah, we gonna make the mean computer stop now?" He asked in his squeaky and loveable voice. "Yes Gir, we are!" Zim declared. He turned when he heard Gaz scoff.

"How, idiot? We used up all the beehives to gum up the legs! We don't have any left to break this blast-shield." She explained in that agitated, yet appealing, tone of hers. Zim scowled in deep thought and examined the force assembled in the room: two malfunctioning SIRs, two Irken defectors who had let their soldiering skills soften and a fear-inspiring daemonic entity who just happened to be the beloved of one of the Irken defectors.

Zim looked back over the SIRs again. "Did Zim not tell you to not fret?" Zim asked with a wry smile forming on his face, "Zim has an idea."

**Chapter 31 Completed, please R&R**

**Ok, I'm just gonna fill in what's in store for you in vague, ambiguous terms that are in no particular order and definitely not in chronological order: martyrdom, boss fight, epic-ness, galactic war, planetary conquest, final boss fights, love, surprises, and finale. That should keep the interest up some **


	32. Hackers Hacked Back

"So what's the plan, Zim?" Vem asked excitedly, sure it was going to be good. "Simple, Vem." Zim responded continuing to wear his victorious smirk.

"Gir! Destroy this wall!" Zim commanded. Both Gaz and Vem immediately facepalmed. Gir looked at the wall and back at Zim. "Okee-dokee!" He squealed before turning red. A vast array of projectile weapons, most of them solid slug and rockets, appeared out of his head and fired on the wall.

The Irkens and human took a step back as MiMi joined in. At first not much was happening aside from shrapnel, bullets and smoke bouncing off of the blast-shield, but then to Gaz and Vem's surprise the robots and their deadly arsenal of weapons finally burst through the shielding. Zim showed no surprise, knowing firsthand the firepower SIRs could pack. Even Vem, experienced as he was, was never issued a SIR when he was an Irken soldier, being that he was a member of Impending Doom 1, not 2.

The computer looked dumbfounded at first and only let out some mechanical sputter before stopping and glaring through its screen at the intruders. "I'm still going to kill you all." It stated flatly. Vem growled.

"Look around, you idiotic excuse of programming!" He shouted, "Your base is dead! Your last defenses are gone! We're going to destroy you in a few moments! Give me one reason why – no! – _How_ you could possibly hope to kill us!"

The computer sat quietly for a moment, its screen flickering. Vem felt a chill run up his spine as he swore he could see it snicker menacingly again. "Because, Vem: I'm still tied into the military networks." The computer stated, a monotone mechanical cackle echoing through the base.

Just then the screen flicked to a clock and the computer stated: "T-minus three minutes until launch of Operation Exterminatus." "Shit!" Vem cursed loudly and kicked the remains of the blast-shield only to nearly break his foot. There were not words for his frustration.

"So, let's just break the thing." Gaz said, her voice a little pitched with fear but not that much. "No, that would be stupid!" Zim argued, "The computer is already in other mainframes! Destroying this would only destroy our direct portal to the computer itself!" Gaz shook her head in genuine confusion. "What?" She demanded.

Zim sighed. "The computer has hacked into the mainframes around the world and exists in them through this headquarters computer. This computer oversees the activations of additional programming it has implanted into the mainframes, like activating the nuke launch. If we simply break this terminal, we destroy the head but the other programs will continue to function as they are programmed to do." He explained quickly seeing the clock fall to two-and-a-half minutes.

"So what do we do?" Vem asked after recovering from his anger episode. "Simple. We hack into the brain and shut down its grip on the networks, sever its ties to all networks and then infect it with a virus to destroy its unprepared systems. Then we do whatever with the remains." Zim was explaining quickly. Two minutes, fifteen seconds.

"Alright. Gaz, hack the computer." Vem ordered. Gaz looked at him like he was an idiot. "I don't know how to hack computers. I program robots." She said. Vem gripped his head in frustration. "My stupid brother knows how to hack into Irken networks, easily though." Gaz offered.

"Dib! Get down here quickly!" Zim explained as he eyed the clock reach two minutes. Dib and Tak's ship landed in the gaping hole within the next five and Zim explained the situation to him within another five. Dib quickly grabbed his laptop from the ship and began typing furiously on the keyboard.

The computer seemed to take notice. "What is this?" It asked, "Your last, feeble attempt to stop me?" Dib pressed more keys. The first firewall was down within a few seconds. Just four more to go.

"Your efforts are futile." Another firewall down; forty-three seconds left.

"You'll never stop me." Two firewalls left and with thirty-seven seconds left.

"You'll never stop the Empire!" One firewall left to go and thirty-five seconds left.

"NO!" The last firewall was crumbled. Dib had just thirty-one seconds left to find the programming for the nuke launch and to override it. Fortunately for him, the Irkens never expected any race they conquered to know anything about computers so the files were relatively in order.

The computer began mechanically selecting random frequencies and hissing them out in a last attempt to stop them. Dib found the file just as one frequency hit the Irkens sensitive antennae and they fell. Dib opened the file and with twenty seconds to spare moved his hand towards the Y key for the Y/N selection of deactivating the nuke launch.

Suddenly a frequency hit his ears and he fell over, writhing. He noticed the other humans doing the same. Then another anti-Irken blast, then another anti-human blast and repeat. It kept them from reaching the keypad.

Ten seconds left and the situation looked horribly bleak when out of nowhere Dib saw Larz's ship land. The canopy opened and immediately Zita fell to writhing at the blare of anti-human frequency. Larz noticed he had less than ten seconds left. He headed for the keyboard and read the screen in a mere second.

"NO!" The computer shouted as Larz pressed the Y key with four seconds left on the clock. The clock froze and the launch was averted. Zim and Tak took the opportunity of the computer being distracted to give their SIRs the signal. "Now! Sever the lines!" They ordered simultaneously.

Both Gir and MiMi pounced onto the wires around the computer, enjoying themselves as they tore the wires loose. Swinging from the wires, jumping on them, eating them even. The two were laughing hysterically as the computer hissed in furious defeat.

Dib got back onto his laptop and smirked in victory. He'd literally saved the world from a competent alien threat. Now to finish that threat. "Here's a little gift, scum. From me, to you." His smirk widened as he pressed a send key and a virus uploaded onto the computer.

Vem's computer was about to retaliate with more frequencies but suddenly began sputtering as images of bananas dancing with maracas to the song 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time' blared from the speakers. That got a good chuckle from the others as the computer sputtered, overwhelmed, and shut off for the last time.

…

The base stayed where it was, a giant burnt out scorpion hovering a few meters over busy streets and dug halfway into abandoned buildings. Like almost every other odd occurrence in the city, nobody seemed to notice or care.

The computer was used for target practice by the Irkens, humans and Saurian in an attempt to better their combat skills in the unlikely event of yet another Irken attack. After the thing was reduced to rubble Dib had Membrane Labs melt it down for scrap for later projects.

Things began to brighten up after that day. Dib took Larz, Zita and a team of explorers on his trek around the globe the following week on an expedition to find unproven life. Gaz took over as temporary CEO of Membrane Labs and created a grant to help the few intelligent and lost children of the world called the 'Professor Membrane Scholar Grant'. Zim and Gaz's relationship picked up faster than it had been going.

Yep, all of that within the span of a week… Things were finally looking up.

…

The Tallest were cheering at first for the news the computer had been destroyed, believing it meant the planet had been destroyed and Zim and Vem (their ships' energy too depleted) could not escape in time. Then they noticed that scans indicated there still was an Earth.

"NO!" Red shouted in anger, crushing the soda in his hand. "Why can't Zim just die?" Purple cried out in exasperation. Red turned to him and scowled. "This has all been a waste of time! Let's just send the Armada out there and wipe that idiotic defect out of existence! We'll blow up everything in that quadrant if we have to!" He growled.

Purple eyed him curiously. "You've gone crazy." He noted. "Who cares?" Red growled in response. "I'm sick of that nuisance ruining everything! Things were going so well and then he killed Miyuki! Things got back on track and he killed Spork! The invasions were going as planned and he blew up half of our home planet and nearly wiped our species out! Things were going so well here and he probably inadvertently caused this mess too!" Red was seething and Purple was beginning to fear his life might be in danger.

Red calmed down. "Let's just send the Armada out there and wipe the planet out. They didn't comply with our wishes, so technically it is our duty as Tallest to do so." He stated. Purple nodded agreement but wasn't so sure that was everything about it. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked after a moment.

Red chuckled slightly, the dark circles under his eyes a bit more noticeable. "In all honesty, Purp, I've never felt better."

**Chapter 32 Completed, please R&R**

**Anybody else ever think Red was the more devious of the two and Purple was the more careless? I always thought so. Anyway, I apologize for the short chapters. I suppose I could've mashed two of these boss fight chapters into one really long one.**


	33. Skoodge?

Dib smiled. It was an honest-to-the-gods Mongolian Death Worm and he had a team of scientists to back him up on it. No one could say he was crazy now, especially not after the zombie and the werewolf they'd uncovered a few weeks back. The scientific evidence was staggering and all around the world people at first freaked out and then gradually accepted it in stride like they did with everything else.

Dib sighed as he thought of Tak. She was on the other side of the world and he was here looking for Death Worms. In her last email to him she was talking about a sudden re-sparking of the Resisty and their struggle and her hanging out with Vem more frequently. Dib felt a slight twinge of jealousy at that, as childish as it was, that Vem was hanging out more with his wife.

While Zita and Larz analyzed the internals of the Death Worm, Dib looked to the direction Tak was in. He was wondering what she was up to.

…

Tak eyed Gaz and Zim curiously at the statement. She'd brought the subject up as a joke, not meaning for it to be taken seriously and yet they both agreed it was no problem with either of them. She shook her head to clear it and asked for what they said.

"We said: 'Yes Tak, it would be ok to mate with you to create smeets'." Zim repeated and Gaz nodded agreement. Tak was dumbfounded. "I was joking!" She insisted, blushing dark green. "Tak, you've brought the subject up more than once." Zim stated, "Besides, it is nothing more than a single mating to produce smeets. I'm sure when Dib gets back and you present the idea to him he'll have no problems with it."

Tak looked to Gaz. "Gaz, you can't possibly be ok with your bloody boyfriend sleeping with me so I can have kids you can't have!" She pleaded. Gaz shrugged. "Zim's explained it to me. I'm perfectly alright with it. Besides, if I wanted kids I'd just get Dib to donate." She explained. Zim nodded agreement, unfazed by the Dib comment. Tak look horrified. "What?" She exclaimed.

Gaz let out a sigh of irritation at her friend. "Dib and I aren't genetically related, and as with you two, it's just a procedure to produce children. Plus Dib's the only human I trust and I agree with Zim (barely) that he's the only genetically worthy one to breed with." She explained, not so much breaking a blush. Tak was stunned in shock.

"He's your bloody brother!" Tak shouted, waving her arms to annunciate each word. Gaz shrugged. "In a morality sense. If he doesn't want to actually do it, we can always just do it artificially." She said. Tak pinched the bridge of where her nose would be. "You don't even like him that much- You know what, never mind. Let's get on to another subject." She demanded, changing off of the disturbing material.

She looked behind her and noticed Vem standing in the doorway, eating an apple. "How long have you been standing there?" She asked. Vem shrugged. "Oh, well before you stopped laughing at your joke." He smirked, referring to her poorly disguised admission to wanting smeets. "I'm surprised you didn't jump at the opportunity and offer yourself as a mating subject." Tak said flatly. Vem scoffed with a mocking sense of being insulted.

"For one, Tak-saviour, I respect you too much. It would leave me disillusioned. For another, I would not want to curse Dib and you with my breed, for that would be a horrible punishment." Vem laughed lightly. Tak smiled. Vem was always respectful towards her, but he was right; she did not want to have his smeets. It would be a lethal mixture of their soldiering abilities, their engineering finesse and Vem's psychotic rage.

"How's the Resisty going?" Tak asked, changing subjects. "Oh, they're going. More defectors everyday, snacks are constantly attacked. Ooo, Foodcourtia got liberated." Vem noted as he filed through some reports on a PDA called PAD by the Irkens, oddly enough. Zim cackled at the news of Foodcourtia, his banishment world, being overthrown.

Vem mentioned something about an odd change in pace of the Empire, particularly in the Armada, but made little of it. Tak looked up into space wondering how many Irkens she knew were part of the Resisty…

…

"Resisty Captain Skoodge reporting for duty, Sir!" Skoodge saluted Lard-Nar respectfully.

"Ah, Skoodge. I hear good things about you. You liberated that world of slaughtering rat-beasts that you conquered, correct?" Lard-Nar asked. "That was me, Sir." Skoodge replied in modesty.

Lard-Nar was still short and Skoodge was taller but still a stumpy figure in a stained uniform. Lard-Nar had become the de facto leader of the entire Resisty and was proud at how they had actually turned situations around. Skoodge had inadvertently saved several Resisty members and they praised him as a hero. With that respect and recognition for his actions, Skoodge decided to stick with the more respectful side.

Skoodge's second-in-command, the former table-service drone, Bob, strolled in. He was taller than Skoodge but lacked the charisma that Skoodge's heroic actions both before and after his transition to the Resisty had given him. Bob had joined up because of how he was supposed to be a millionaire in moneys but the Tallest had cheated him and tried to kill him.

"Ah, and Bob. How did the rally go?" Lard-Nar asked. "Oh, like they always go. I told them our cause; read some texts, taught them the song 'The Interplanetary' and they loved it all." Bob explained. Lard-Nar nodded happily.

A third Irken defector, a prisoner warrior who put up a tough fight on Foodcourtia but eventually defected for unknown reasons strolled in. He was large, dwarfing his three superiors. "Good afternoon, Sizz-lor." Lard-Nar greeted. The former fry lord grunted in response.

Suddenly a lieutenant of the Resisty slammed into the room, wide-eyed. "What is it, Lieutenant?" Lard-Nar asked in concern. "The Armada's begun moving, Sir! They're heading on a course to some unknown destination; somewhere far away!" The lieutenant replied shakily.

The officers looked at the map and Skoodge's eyes widened, him visiting the area on the map and realizing where they were headed. "What is it, Skoodge?" Bob asked. "They're heading for Earth!" Skoodge exclaimed and Lard-Nar's eyes widened. "Of course! I almost forgot that planet was there." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Zim's on that planet! They must be going to kill him!" Skoodge explained. The other officers exchanged side glances. "So?" Sizz-lor asked, having no particular like of Zim. "We have to save him!" Skoodge exclaimed. "Why?" The lieutenant asked.

Skoodge growled. "Because for one, it's the Armada! For two, they'll probably just blow the whole planet up and we can't have that! Finally, the Tallest hate him! He being killed would be a huge stress relief to them!" He listed reasons he knew the others would like. They nodded and began muttering agreement.

"Well, I'm on your side, Cap." Bob said. He still had a liking for Zim born out of his dislike for the Tallest. "I guess I can't let my fry cook die off…" Sizz-lor rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't too fond of Zim, but he didn't really hate him. "I can't let the Armada vaporize a world." Lard-Nar admitted. The lieutenant looked at the officers. "This is Zim we're talking about, though? Do we really want him on our side?" He asked, panicked. The others thought about that.

Lard-Nar sighed. "It's our duty to stop the Irken Empire, no matter what. So that's what we're doing." He said. With that, the main fleet turned to intercept the Armada and save Earth.

**Chapter 33 Completed, please R&R**

**By the way, 'The Interplanetary' is a reference to 'The Internationale' a famous Socialist hymn of revolutions. I recommend it; they have versions in over 40 languages!**


	34. The Resisty

**This fic is the longest DaTr fic on Fan-Fiction! -Pops cork on bottle of champagne-**

The Resisty.

They numbered less than five-hundred before the Liberation of Sauria. After that fateful battle they numbered nearly a thousand. Within the several Earth years following the event their numbers skyrocketed into the millions and even billions.

Now they were to save Earth from possible annihilation at the hands of the Irken Empire and their Armada. Thanks to Captain Skoodge convincing the other officers of the Resisty, they managed to get a volunteer force of over six-hundred-and-seventy-three Irkens, Saurians, Deltobs (the race that use to inhabit Foodcourtia) and various other aliens armed and ready to stop the Armada.

Skoodge looked out at the marching legions of Revolutionaries. They waved purple banners with the Irken emblem crossed out by a bright red 'NO' symbol and the word 'Resisty' emblazoned under it. They wore the military uniforms of their homeworlds but with the Irken symbolism ex-d out with bright red x-symbols or NO circles. To give a sense of unity, the Resisty create the symbol of a red smiling face and was putting them on caps modeled after the Earth 'mariner' caps and distributing them in various colours. Skoodge saw that even Irkens wore the caps with pride and smiled as he heard the hymn of 'The Interplanetary' being sung out in several alien languages.

"You ready to go, Sir?" Skoodge heard Bob ask from behind him. He turned to greet his taller second. "Of course. Let's get to saving that planet!" Skoodge fist-pumped and Bob chuckled at his superior's eager, yet oddly soldiering, attitude. It was kind of inspiring, too. Skoodge quit fist-pumping when he noticed Bob wearing one of the mariner caps in Irken-purple on his head with the red smiley face on it.

"Where'd you get one of those?" Skoodge asked and Bob looked up at his hat. "Oh, these? They're being pumped out by some recently captured world. This Resisty stuff is going by briskly." Bob explained. Skoodge asked to try the hat on and Bob obliged. It was too big for him but even on a smaller size Skoodge said it just didn't look right. "I think I'll keep to my smiley face armband instead." Skoodge returned the hat and indicated the red band on his stained purple uniform.

"Well, Earth is a two week journey, even with modern technology. What could we do until then?" Bob asked, changing the subject. Bob was something of a womanizer, even though he was abstinent like many other Irkens. Skoodge noticed Bob had been trying to busy himself with other activities besides hitting on and making out with various Irken females.

"I don't know. We could train and review stratagems." Skoodge suggested with a shrug. Bob groaned. Leave it to the amazing ex-Invader Skoodge to come up with a boring idea. "Hey, training's pretty fun! We use an old Irken battle simulator and fire little stun-lasers at each other in combat games." Skoodge explained.

Bob thought about it. That did sound kind of fun and if they were going to take on the Armada with only about 700 men, they could use all the training they could get.

"Alright, let's do it." Bob said plainly. Skoodge smiled and led the way to the simulator. Skoodge enjoyed soldiering and training and was damned good at it. Sadly, his former leaders never respected him or used him to his full potential. Skoodge still had loyalty to the Empire born out of pride for being Irken, but had gotten into the Revolutionary spirit and camaraderie of the Resisty. He was still naïve Skoodge, though.

…

The simulator was an immense and bulky orb-like structure aboard the ship. It was as large as a small plantation and had training weapons galore around the outside for troops to equip themselves.

Skoodge and Bob split their unit of 50 Resisty members into 25 each and were at opposite ends of the simulator prepping their teams before entrance. Skoodge was a popular officer due to his heroism in being the first Invader to capture a world in Operation Impending Doom II and the same person to liberate that world even though the former action had been overlooked for some time. His naïve personality gave him the impression of someone that was very kind and likeable and his newly placed loyalty in the Resisty was inspiring.

Bob was also a favourable commander, but for different reasons. He had survived the attempt on his life by the Tallest and reproached them until they gave in and gave him his millions. Soon after, when he heard of the Resisty actually succeeding, Bob invested in a weapons factory world and actually gave it to the Resisty as a show of loyalty, joining their ranks. His snarky wit and capacity with numbers made him a good leader and he quickly befriended Skoodge, soon becoming his second. No one could say why Bob did what he did, his attitude not quite matching with the concept of him giving an entire planet to a force that had done nothing for him, but there is speculation he did it merely to spite the Tallest.

The two commanders flipped a coin on which side got Sizz-lor and Skoodge won, much to Bob's dismay. Sizz-lor was a soldiering legend; a fry cook with the combat skills of a Spartan god, as odd as that was. Skoodge's team, as a result of having the best fighter onboard, had to lower the power setting of the training weapons as a handicap.

"Alright team, here's what I want to see:" Bob began in the best leader tone he could muster, "I want Derm and Fula to split off with their units of 10," Bob motioned his hand at the two most experienced squad leaders in his unit, an Irken (Derm) and a Vortian (Fula), "Dag, Jem, Jeff and Galosh are with me." Bob pointed out the combat veterans of the unit, three of them Irken Elite and Galosh being a Saurian commando. Bob might have been a good strategist and charismatic leader, but he wasn't much of a combat man and felt safer with the elite backing him up.

The three squads split up and headed different directions in the simulator. The simulator had set the arena up like a mountainous area with rocky outcrops and forested woods about. At the other end Skoodge had finished setting up his squads in a similar format with the elite of his unit (Invaders Kim and Tenn, Sizz-lor and Saurian Todd) and having his two most able commanders lead squads of ten men each: Vortian Mar Klar and Saurian Yabs.

Galosh got the first 'kill' in the simulation, winging and successfully stunning a Deltob from Yabs' squad. Yabs' squad returned fire, but Bob had expected to encounter resistance early on and thus had his squads roaming and intertwining in a weaving pattern. They'd soon intersect with the firefight and save Bob and the elite, which was if the elite didn't finish the enemy squad first.

Galosh scored another hit on an Irken defector. Yabs managed to stun Jeff's firing arm and Jeff resorted to firing a sidearm with his off-hand. Bob smiled as he saw Derm's squad appear and join in the firefight but frowned as he realized the Vortian's, Fula's, squad hadn't appeared and hadn't signed in.

"Three, this is One. Come in." Bob ordered over the communicator on his PAK. There was silence on the other end. Suddenly Jeff fell sideways from a crack shot, paralyzed. Bob ducked away as another shot took out Dag. He saw Galosh take out Yabs and saw the three remaining members of his squad begin to scamper in disarray. He also saw Sizz-lor sharpshooting his elite and just barely dodged a shot that would have paralyzed him.

"Galosh, you think you can take out Sizz-lor?" Bob asked his Saurian companion. Galosh was a paler shade of green, taller and leaner than most Saurians. His fire-red hair was short and spiky, but dull and graying regardless of his young age. He had a grim and gaunt figure that matched his personality; even his olive-drab standard Saurian BDU seemed greyer than the other Saurian uniforms.

Galosh looked over the rock and ducked back at rock chips splintering near him. The holograms sure were realistic. "Sorry, Sir. The Fry Lord's got us pegged." Galosh shrugged. Bob laughed inwardly at the Fry Lord comment. Sizz-lor, like Skoodge, Lard Nar and occasionally, by extension, Bob were practically worshipped as Resisty legends. The only people they superseded them were the Dib-human, Tak, and Larz and all three of them had returned to their world ages ago, sealing them as one-time heroes and literal legends; the stuff of tall tales.

Bob pulled out a mirror from his PAK. Using a trick from Skoodge and other Irken Invaders, he looked out with the mirror, spotting Sizz-lor's location. Jem was half-paralyzed and too far out of the way for them to help him. He'd been there for some time, sadly. "Galosh, did you see where Sizz-lor was stationed?" Bob asked. Galosh nodded.

"When I give the word, jump out of cover and fire at his position, understood?" Bob asked and again Galosh nodded. Bob shifted the mirror slightly and as soon as light reflected off of Sizz-lor's face and he shifted, blinded, Bob shouted the signal. Galosh shot upwards, steadied his aim and fired a perfect stunning shot that sent the large Irken tumbling down from his perch.

Before Bob could congratulate the Saurian for taking down the most elite member of Skoodge's unit, Galosh was knocked over by a barrage of stun shots. Bob stayed down as he heard Mar Klar's squad with the remaining soldiers from Yabs' squad charging onto the remnants of Derm's squad. It was then Bob realized they'd been busy taking out Fula's squad and had returned, missing only three men.

Bob growled in irritation as he heard Derm's squad, taken by surprise and missing two men already, begin dropping from the barrage of shots. As soon as one of Skoodge's unit was felled, two of his were. As soon as the last of Derm's squad fell and the enemy began to relax, Bob flipped his weapon to full auto, sprung up on the surprised eight remaining squadmates that congregated in an opening, and before they could run for cover he stunned every last one of them by draining his energy clip into them.

Breathing heavily, Bob realized he'd just taken out the last of Skoodge's troops, save for the three remaining elite. He dropped the spent rifle and picked up another, Jeff's. He attached the mirror to the end of his rifle and angled it to get views around corners without risk of shot. 21 out of 25 men were down on Skoodge's side, but 24 out of 25 were lost to Bob. Even if he miraculously won, it would be a hollow victory.

Bob saw the backs of Kim and Todd as they were scouting the area. He quickly rolled through into the open and dropped as they turned. Before they could line up the shot he stunned Kim in the knee and shot Todd in the neck, an instant stun. Kim fired a shot and it hit right in Bob's shoulder, stunning most of the arm's movement bitterly. Working through it, Bob managed to stun Kim before he could take another shot.

Bob got up and began moving up again. He used the mirror around a corner and caught a glimpse of Tenn before feeling the rifle yank out of his grip. The strap took him with it and flung him into the open as Tenn tackled him. He pushed the rifle in between the two of them and they grappled with it as Tenn tried to use a stun bayonet to take Bob out 'professionally'.

"You look so beautiful in the holographic twilight." Bob flirted with the female Irken. She let out a light scoff. "You're not too bad, yourself, table-drone." She replied back with that supremacist attitude many ex-Invaders carried with them even in the Resisty. Bob let out a sharp exhale as a sign of mock injury. "That's no way to talk to a comrade." He said slyly.

Bob suddenly used all his strength to flip the tables, putting him on top, pushing the rifle downwards onto Tenn. He powered up his own stun bayonet. "Why are you always in Skoodge's unit?" Bob asked, a little hurt put into his words. "Because he saved me from the Meekrob with Zim." Tenn explained as she struggled under the grip of the rifle, "I owed it to him."

"But you like me right? I'm not that bad, right?" Bob asked. He normally didn't care about others' opinions, but there was something about Tenn's purple orbs, fair skin, curly antennae… that just made him care. "Bob, Sir, no offense but you're a womanizing and spineless soldier who pretty much bought his rank in the Resisty." Tenn seethed. Ouch.

"That's not all of it." Bob stated rather than questioned, "You don't like me because we're from two different social standings, mine being a former service drone and yours being the Irken Elite." He was right, but ever since Tenn had joined the Resisty out of irritation at the shipping orders the Empire kept blighting her with, her sense of pride in her decision, and thus a sense of pride in the Resisty itself, would never let her admit going against the principles of the Resisty.

"That's not it at all!" Tenn argued, embarrassed. "Please!" Bob scoffed, "You act all high and mighty and choose Skoodge because he's higher class! Not because you like him!" Tenn scowled. "And how would you know what I like?" She demanded. Bob smirked because he knew the answer to this one. "I see it in your eyes and your attitude screams it. You're into the snarky, witty, attractive kinds who have a compassionate side." He explained.

Tenn, flustered and sick of the conversation and the futile struggle gave up. "Are you going to shoot me or not?" She asked. Bob's smirk didn't fade. "I'd never shoot you beautiful. Skoodge is going to." He said. Before Tenn could question his motives, Bob flipped her around as a shield and held the rifle singlehandedly.

A stunning round hit Tenn in the torso and she felt her capacity to move muscles and all non-necessary functions fail with paralysis. She went slack and open-eyed at the scene before her. Skoodge cursed to himself as he saw he'd just shot the teammate he was attempting to rescue. Both Bob and Skoodge had beads on each other and Bob was slowly and gently placing Tenn on the ground.

The two officers, comrades in the Resisty, stood at a standoff, their rifles poised to stun each other. "Well, well, Skoodge. I see you're tactics wiped out my unit." Bob stated, smiling at his friend. "And I see the commando tactics you've picked up have helped you take out my unit." Skoodge was also smiling at his friend. They had a sort of competitive friendship in certain fields, namely combat even though Bob wasn't much of a combatant.

"So here we are. The two of caught in a world of war as the dunes of friendship shift into dune of war. Lest we forget the…" Bob was beginning but was silenced by a stun shot to the chest. Immediately the simulation ended, the holograms fading and all stunned participants were un-stunned.

"You shot me while I was monologue-ing!" Bob shouted. "Sorry, Bobby. Irken Elite tactic: get them while they're talking." Skoodge apologized. Bob laughed lightly. He probably shouldn't have been chatting so much anyway. Tenn still looked flustered either over their conversation or at the fact Bob had used her as a shield. Bob wanted to say something, but refrained and watched as she huffed off. He sighed as he got up.

"I think I'll call it a night, Cap." Bob yawned to cover his saddened expression and tone. Skoodge raised an eyebrow and wondered if it had something to do with losing the match, but didn't feel like approaching that subject. "Well, ok Bob. Rest up well and we'll try some more simulations tomorrow." He said.

Bob chuckled lightly as he left. If he kept this training up everyday, he'd be more of an elite than Skoodge or Tenn combined.

Then he smiled. She might notice him then.

**Chapter 34 Completed, please R&R**

**Well, I added a nice big filler chap to get us back on track AND I created another potential couple using background characters that were hardly mentioned in the series AND used a combination of canon and OCs in this chapter! DID I JUST BLOW YOUR FETHING MIND?**


	35. Disturbence

**WARNING: This chapter starts off normal but begins to stray to Raunchy and Risqué later into it. I'm serious, I had warped inspiration when I wrote this; it might be quite offensive or disturbing! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, SO NO REVIEWS ON DISTURBENCE!**

Tak woke up to the sound of sizzling and the smells of stir-fry. She smiled happily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Dib was home.

She walked into the hallway and saw Gaz already up and sniffing at the air. "Dib's teriyaki stir-fry with pork, celery, shreds of a baby carrot, and a bit of onion and garlic, all drizzled in soy sauce…" Gaz thought out loud.

Gaz was supposed to move in with Zim soon and her room was all packed up, but she was still with the Membrane household until such time she felt comfortable to move. It wasn't only for her benefit; Zim was still something of a xenophobe and worried how his house would come over to someone of importance to him, namely the Gaz-flower.

Gaz turned around and saw Tak. "He must have discovered something to restore his rep if he's making something like that." She noted as she smelled the addition of some cayenne to the dish, "Oh, you are in for a treat." Gaz drooled lightly. If there was one thing Gaz loved almost as much as Bloaty's pizza, it was Dib's occasional Asian cuisine.

The two young women descended into the living room and appeared at the doorway of the kitchen where they saw the young man, his black coat folded over a chair, cooking up a large wok of stir-fry, humming a random tune. He saw Tak and Gaz and immediately stopped cooking to give them both a huge hug. Gaz refrained from growling at him as the stir-fry beckoned to her. Tak returned the embrace.

Dib poured the contents of the wok onto three plates and put the used dishes in the dish washer. "So, what's the occasion?" Gaz asked as she took a bite and transported herself to nirvana. Tak took a bite and felt her mind go numb. She'd never had Asian cuisine before, nor did she know Dib could cook. The tangy, sweet, meaty and even a tiny bit spicy flavours rolled over her tongue and she was a bit saddened when the experience was over as she swallowed.

"Well, thanks to Larz, Zita and the other biologists, we've discovered a Mongolian Death Worm and a Werewolf!" Dib exclaimed in victory. There was an odd silence as Gaz and Tak stopped eating to take that in. They knew Dib and loved him in their individual ways, but even they had trouble seeing werewolves and Death worms being reality.

"Really?" Gaz asked. Dib nodded happily and began smiling a large, goofy smile. Tak was stunned but too entranced by the cuisine to be stunned for long. Dib smiled. "Enjoying the stir-fry, my love?" Dib asked, tapping his fingers on the table, his silver band sticking out from his slightly tanned hands. Dib had tanned. That was funny to Gaz, but she was too distracted by delicious food to snicker.

Tak nodded happily. "This stuff is amazing! I didn't know you were such a good cook!" She said, realizing then that her antennae were twitching happily and ecstatically. Embarrassed, she laid them flat against her head and continued to eat. "Oh, this?" Dib waved his hand in a gesture like it was nothing, "I just got good from having to cook when our food supplies were… inadequate."

"Inadequate?" Tak asked. "Sometimes Dad forgot we were children and sent us dog food so Dib made genius with leftovers. Sometimes he forgot us all together. Sometimes he just sent us the raw materials." Gaz explained, listing various occasions when the 'glorious' Professor Membrane forgot something as simple as his children's welfare.

"Well it's pretty good." Tak continued to praise the food and was disappointed to find she had eaten it all. Still, it was filling and the flavours filled her mouth for awhile afterwards. Gaz was laughing lightly as she ate slowly. "That happened my first time, too." She said, "You've got to eat it slowly and savour the flavours." Tak made a mental note of that.

Since Dib was in such a good mood and Tak had finished eating, Tak felt now would be a good time. "Dib, how do you feel about having a smeet?" She asked. Dib looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I'd love to if you'd love to." He said. Tak felt a moment of excitement but died it down with her next statement. "You know that humans and Irkens can't breed, though… so I'd need a donor…" She began.

"I hope Zim was who you had in mind." Dib said, his tone not shifting. Tak's antennae shot up in surprise. "Well, yes, but… Irkens cannot…" She began but Dib finished the sentence for her. "Cannot be artificially inseminated. I'm aware." He said, his tone still happy. Tak looked examined Dib with her purple orbs, trying to make sure it was actually Dib.

"Which means I'd have to mate with you best friend to produce smeets…" Tak finished. Dib finished eating, though there was still a generous portion of food on his plate so he poured it in halves on both Tak and Gaz's plates. "You sure?" Gaz asked. "I had a big dinner last night with the scientists." Dib explained.

He returned his attention to Tak. Tak squinted at him in an attempt to see through any hologram or ruse this might be. Nope, still Dib. "I'm alright with it. Zim and I've talked it over for years since you first mentioned wanting smeets." Dib explained. Tak buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Oh, don't overreact so much, Tak! You want kids, I want kids and Zim's willing to mate with you! I admit the idea took me some time to get used to, what with my best friend banging my wife, but I've gotten through the obvious dilemmas with such a concept." He ranted.

Tak looked up at him and smiled. She had ended up with probably one of the few men on the entire planet, nay, in the entire galaxy that would let her sleep with another man for children.

Gaz finished her dish and looked up at Dib who was collecting the dishes. "By the way, Zim needs a sample of your semen." Gaz stated nonchalantly. Dib quit smiling, the happy twinkle in his eyes fading as he dropped a plate in surprise. "What the hell for?" Dib demanded.

"To impregnate me so Zim and I can have kids?" She said it as if it were obvious, "Unless of course you wanted to do it the old fashioned way." Again, in that nonchalant tone. Dib fell into his chair, pale and greenish. Tak gave a concerned look at Dib and then glanced at Gaz who was smirking. Tak knew Gaz was serious, but at the same time she was enjoying tormenting her brother with the idea of near-incest. It was one of those games she played to hurt or shock her brother, and it worked.

"Gaz, I… that's disgusting!" Dib stuttered. Gaz unbuttoned the top of her blouse. "No, it'll be quick. We can do it right here if you want." She said in that same flat tone, smirking viciously at her perfect prank. Dib went from green to red as he blushed at Gaz's actions. He covered his eyes and turned away. "Gaz! What are you doing?" He asked. Dib covered his nose; it was bleeding.

Tak scowled. "You think she's attractive, don't you?" She asked with jealousy in her tone. "She's my damned sister!" Dib was stuttering, getting up. "I need a walk! I need fresh air! You two are freaking me out!" Dib said, grabbing a paper towel as he left. Tak growled as she heard the front door slam and Gaz began laughing hysterically at possibly her greatest prank ever.

"I can't believe you just tried to seduce your own brother!" Tak admitted. "He's more like an uncle than a brother." Gaz noted, wiping a tear from her eye. She buttoned her top back up. Tak continued to glare at her friend and Gaz smirked again. "You're not disgusted by my actions; you're jealous." She stated.

Tak began to stammer about how she was just reacting naturally to the disgusting display and to Gaz's inappropriate behaviour but Gaz continued to smirk, even opening an eye at her friend. Tak sat quietly for a moment, a large blush crawling up her face. Gaz won, as always.

"Look, if it helps I'd much rather refrain from sleeping with Dib. Like I said, he's more like an uncle. It was just fun to mess with his head like that." Gaz explained, the smirk fading. "How so?" Tak asked.

Gaz sat back and thought about it. "My brother has been taking care of me for longer than I care to remember. That puts him in a class above a mere brother. In truth, he never seemed like a brother. He was so different than me. He was outgoing, more social but still an outcast, and wanted to learn about the world while I saw that as pointless. He had inspiration where I found boredom. He created adventure. He's not just my brother; he's my caretaker and best friend. And I treat him terribly because it's humorous."

Tak took in what she said. "But you love him." She offered. "Some days; a few days I've been known to love him differently. You know, one day I see him as my stupid brother, the next day I see him as my friend and some I can talk to, and a few I see him as handsome teenager who likes to talk to me. Thank the gods I met Zim and Dib met you or who knows what would've happened between us being outcasts and locked up in a house to ourselves… I blame hormones." Gaz explained in such an unembarrassed tone that it surprised Tak.

"You don't seem too affected by this." Tak noted, referring to the fact Gaz was describing so many personal facts. "I trust you, Tak. I know you're not the kind of person to go spreading my secrets like some virus." Tak smiled genuinely at the sign of trust between the two. "To tell you the truth, I was jealous." Tak admitted. "I know." Gaz grinned. "If it makes you feel better, I would've let you join in." Gaz smirked at seeing Tak shut her eyes from images flowing into her mind. That was a little bizarre even for her experienced tastes.

Dib reappeared in the doorway after coming in from outside, glad to see Gaz had buttoned her shirt back up and Tak hadn't killed her out of jealousy. "So, let's go see Zim." Dib suggested.

…

"Zim will merely need a sample of your breeding goo to properly splice and create the perfect gene mixture for the Gaz-flower. I'm also going to mix some of my own DNA in the mix and add some of your DNA to my own breed-goo for Tak." Zim explained handing a large cup to Dib. Dib's eyes widened.

"I have to fill this whole thing up?" He asked in shock. Zim nodded. Tak felt nervous. "This feels wrong." She admitted. "Relax, Tak. Neither of us will enjoy this and it will be horribly awkward for both, so what's to be worried about?" Zim asked. Tak glared at him.

"If it helps, he's amazing in bed." Gaz stated. Dib immediately let out a groan of disgust and handed the cup back to Zim. "I can't do it with those images floating in my head! Thanks for them, Gaz!" Dib spat out in disgust. Gaz smirked. "Anytime." She replied.

"Oh, you will fill the glass with your genetic breed-goo, or so help me, Zim will track you down and rain doomed DOOM upon you! OF DOOM!" Zim seethed, shoving the glass into back into Dib's grasp. "Zim, this is really awkward…" Zim continued to glare at him. "Does Zim need to get one of the SIRs to help you?" Zim asked in a threatening manner. Dib went pale and turned towards the nearest bathroom. "I'll, er, get you a sample as quickly as possible… sick little thing…" Dib muttered the last part under his breath.

As soon as Dib left, Zim turned to Tak. "Alright, Tak. Let's get this over with so you might have your smeets and my beloved can have our worm-babies." He said after injecting himself with a sample of Dib's DNA.

Tak and Zim went into a breeding chamber, leaving Gaz alone with the two SIRs.

"This is going to be an awkward wait, isn't it?" Gaz asked herself out loud. "It sure will." Gir replied, smiling.

…

Dib and Zim were at the bar, drinking. Apparently neither of them had gotten over what had occurred a few days ago when they decided to essentially breed with each other's lovers to give them kids.

"I can't even look Gaz in the eye anymore because every time I see her I think I've… wronged her inappropriately." Dib said, drinking a third shot of whiskey. "Zim also feels regret over these actions, but we'll get over them when the smeets and worm-babies arrive. Then we have children, with our DNA…" Zim explained.

Dib shuddered. "Technically, we're the father of each other's children and our own children at the same time, so it's like we both mated with Tak and Gaz at the same time…" He said, so horrified with the concept that it didn't even show. It was the kind of horror that masked itself.

Zim shuddered heavily. "Let's just go to our homes and be reminded why we did what we did: for our beloveds." He said. Dib smiled as the horror faded. "That sounds pretty good, friend." He admitted.

The two left to be with their lovers and reminded of why they made the disturbing, questionable decisions they made. They had no idea of the dangers that were only a day away from their little planet.

**Chapter 35 Completed, please R&R**

**I got the sexual tension and innuendo out of the way! A few chapters left and I think the story should be done :D**


	36. Earth United

"That's great news…" Vem said over the phone to Tak. His tone was tinged with a slight amount of fear but was otherwise dull. Tak's voice asked if something was wrong but it sounded faded in the distance. He told her everything was alright, said his goodbyes and hung up.

'_Vem…_' The voice whispered out again. Vem closed his eyes, attempting to shut the voice out. '_Come now, Vem… You can't turn yourself away…_' The voice spoke with a soft, though curiously malevolent tone. Vem was sweating as he opened his eyes. His mismatched orbs were wide with fear at the sight before him.

It was Bird, his old SIR unit, but with mismatched purple and red eyes like his and a jagged-toothed smile painted where the mouth should be… in blood. Every scar was in the correct place, scratches in the metal laced with dried Irken blood. The only different scar was a long one across its torso from being cut in half years ago.

Vem took a step back. "You're not real… You blew up." Vem said to himself rather than the SIR. '_Did I..?_' The SIR asked in that whispery, metallic snarky tone. Vem was breathing heavily. His remaining antenna was twitching slowly and spastically, like the legs of a freezing fly as its life sputters out. The objects of his house seemed to shift and melt until he looked at them and they came back into focus.

"You're a delusion… nothing more." Vem spat. Bird took a step forward and Vem took one back. It wasn't the first time he'd seen the SIR. He'd been showing up every now and then since his breakdown a few years ago. His appearance became regular and more menacing ever since the battle with the computer a few weeks ago. He'd begun avoiding his friends, worried the delusions might drive him to harm them.

'_You locked me away… Hid me in the recesses of your mind… But you can't just ignore what you are… what we are…_' Bird was shifting now, his form contorting, lengthening. His scarred, metal body became broken and flaking darkness, the scars and eyes glowing red. His body began to wisp and wane around the edges. The jagged smile stayed in place. It was like looking at some demented Cheshire.

Suddenly Vem spat up a good amount of green blood as a sharp pain exploded in his torso. He looked down to see the daemonic SIR jamming its shadowy arm into an old scar that broke into the squeedily-spooch wound. Vem let out a sharp howl of pain as he felt a twist and then blacked out.

When he came to, he noticed his augmented hand was cusped loosely around an Irken military dagger that was lodged where the shade had punched through. He noticed he was bleeding lightly, apparently the wound being mostly superficial. He also noticed he was drenched his own sweat.

Vem stood and walked towards his couch, weakly. He sat, catching his breath when he suddenly heard the phone ringing. He realized it had been ringing for a few moments and he just now began to hear it. Answering it, he was surprised it was Larz calling for an emergency meeting. Something about a fleet and the Resisty and Zim. Vem wasn't all there and agreed to meet them at a prearranged location: Bloaty's.

As Vem stood to leave, he cleaned himself up and made for the door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder back into the darkness of his base. There were two faint glowing circles and a sinister, jagged smile. Vem gulped and left quickly.

…

Gaz wasn't hungry after hearing the news. That was the first sign that something was horribly wrong. Nobody was hungry after hearing it.

"Can you repeat that?" Vem asked. He'd been having trouble hear due to a ringing in his ears that had a faint cackle to it. "I said the Irken Armada is here in full strength to destroy Earth." Larz repeated. Vem nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation, but still horribly distracted by his inner daemons.

"The Resisty is holding them off, but they're outmatched ten to one." Larz continued. Curses in different tongues went up around the table. "There has to be some way to help…" Zita muttered. "Nothing short of a damned army is going to stop them…" Larz said.

Dib smiled. "An army we have…" He muttered under his breath at first. "Huh?" Tak asked. "We have an army: the Membrane Labs Security Force." Dib explained. Gaz thought about it. "Yeah, but they'll never deploy against an alien fleet. They'll consider it a 'perceived threat' and just call us crazy." She argued.

Dib laughed. "Gaz, they'll go wherever we tell them to. They're fiercely loyal to the Labs and quite frankly, if you order them, they'll probably do anything." Dib said. "So, what? We just send an army into space to fight off an invasion?" Zim asked. "Pretty much." Dib replied. Zim grinned.

The group was getting a little stirred and rallied to fight off an alien invasion, but Vem was still distracted. "What's wrong with you, Vem?" Tak asked. "Oh, nothing Tak-saviour. I am just nervous. It'll pass." Vem lied, but the others believed him.

"Let's move out." Dib said, unchallenged.

…

"And so that's the situation." Dib finished to the amassed officers of the Membrane Labs Security Force and several generals from various countries and PMCs. The MLSF members stood attentively and loyally, taking in the information while the generals and PMC leaders began to question the mission.

"Do you honestly believe an alien fleet from an advanced empire light-years away from here is fighting just outside of orbit?" A general from the UN asked. Dib smirked. He saw this coming.

"I've had the Membrane Labs take photos of the scene with the Membrane Telescope. As you can see, the fleet is a reality." Dib pointed out as images of the fleet and the battle played out in images on the screen.

There were murmurs and observations, arguments and prayers braking out all throughout the meeting. "Representatives of the UN and PMCs!" Dib shouted to get their attention and the murmuring ceased, "Our private military is more than capable of aiding our allies in this space battle, but I figured the UN, NATO, the NCO and the rest of the world should know about this and might want in on the fight."

The officers looked at each other. "Germany shall join you in saving our welt!" A general from the German Heer stood up and decreed. "And so is Russia, Comrade!" A Russian Federation general also stood up. "And America!" Another general. Then another, and another, and another. Soon all the representatives were standing and pledging their allegiance to this sacred mission: the mission to save Earth.

Dib smiled. This could actually work. He had the ships, he had the manpower, and he even had the weapons. All that remained was setting up communication with the Resisty and getting the Membrane Telescope to finish its scans of the fleet so the general staff could finish plans.

"I do have one last bit of news." Dib informed the generals. They looked up to him, smiles on their faces like he was some sort of god. "Not all aliens, not even the ones from the Empire, are evil conquerors hell-bent on conquering us." Dib informed. The general staff waited patiently as he wheeled his four alien friends, Tak, Zim, Vem and Larz, out for them to see.

"These four are aliens who've pledged their loyalty to this planet and its wellbeing and call this Earth home. Please deactivate your disguises now." Dib said. Tak and Vem's forms shifted before deactivating and Zim merely removed his wig and contacts. There was a lot of gasping and arguing amongst the generals, but again the MLSF members stood loyal and true, never raising their voice in speculation.

"Your own wife is one of them?" A general demanded. Dib frowned. Another war where immediately one side referred to the other as 'them'. That was refreshing. "Listen! The Irkens are not our enemies! The Irken Empire is our enemy! They practically enslave their own people like they enslave the rest of the races in their empire!" Dib explained.

The generals were still riled up. "Pathetic meat-sacks!" Zim called out to them and there was silence as the officers gave questioning looks at the term. "I am Zim! I came to this world for the Empire to conquer it and enslave your race or to destroy it!" He explained. Dib facepalmed and the officers were riled up once more.

"However!" Zim called out and there was silence again, "After being on this world for nearly a decade, I see a more beautiful side to its life and to human culture. I eat Chinese cuisine and watch the Scary Monkey Show like any other pitiful worm-creature, and I admit I enjoy it, too! Zim will be fed to the jiglar beasts of Mikado before he has this world conquered by those who would seek to ruin its life forms, and you would all be doomed fools to let something like an interspecies relationship keep you from fighting for the same cause!"

The officers sat in contemplative, stunned silence for a moment before all standing and cheering the Irken. Dib smiled, surprised that had worked. Tak, Larz and Gaz were all surprised that had worked, too. Vem was too distracted by the metallic cackle in his ears.

"Let's go save Earth!" Dib shouted and another cheer answered him. "Für Erde!" "Pour la Terre!" "Dlya Zemli!" "For Earth!" The battlecries rang out across the officers deck and everyone began to sing anthems and ran off to brief their men.

Earth now had a fighting chance.

**Chapter 36 Completed, please R&R**

**I just revealed Zim, Tak and Vem as aliens to the public and Zim's half-minded speech convinced the stuffy old general staff to get over themselves and let aliens fight for Earth. Nothing brings a planet together like an alien invasion :D**


	37. Massive Storm

Dib, Gaz, Tak, Zim, Vem and a cadre of five Earth military representatives stood aboard the flagship of the Resisty fleet. They were looking out at the Massive's weapons destroying entire fleets of small fighters. The battle wasn't going so well.

Finally the Resisty representative, Skoodge, and his second Bob appeared on deck. "Good day, Earthanoid Allies." Skoodge saluted and Bob repeated the gesture. Zim returned the salute. "Ah, you must be in charge." Zim said, extending his hand to Bob, who was the taller of the two.

"Oh, no. Skoodge is my superior." Bob jerked a thumb at Skoodge who waved. "Hey Zim!" He greeted. Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Didn't you die? Like five times?" He asked. Skoodge waved it off. "Yeah, but I'm alright now." He said.

The others were standing behind him. "Is that Tak… and… VEM?" Skoodge exclaimed. Both Skoodge and Bob pulled weapons on the distracted ex-convict. Zim stepped in between them. "Easy! He's with us now." He explained. Skoodge lowered his weapon and Bob followed shortly after.

"These… are the officers of the Resistance forces?" One of the Earth representatives spoke up. Skoodge quirked his brow. "Yeah. What did you expect?" He asked. The Earth rep shrugged. "I don't know… Someone a little… taller?" He said meagerly. "Well the leader of the Resisty is even shorter than me." Skoodge explained and the Earthling pursed his lips in contemplation.

While Dib, Zim, Tak and military reps discussed the coming Earth wave of infantry, estimated to number in the millions which more than made up for the technological disadvantages, Gaz noticed Vem was increasingly twitchy, sweating and virtually unresponsive even to the threat of being vaporized a few moments ago.

"Vem. Vem. Vem!" Gaz finally caught the Irken's attention. "Oh, hello Gaz-human." Vem greeted her as if he had no idea she had been standing next to him for half an hour. Gaz eyed him suspiciously.

"Vem, you've been acting weirder than normal… Are you alright?" Gaz asked. To anyone not used to Gaz's voice and unemotional stature that would seem like just a normal question but to those used to her Gaz-ness they could tell there was a measure of concern in the voice.

"I'm alright, just a little shaken up." Vem said meagerly and with a sad smile. Gaz nodded. She could understand considering the fact the Irken Armada was poised to kill all life on Earth. But that wasn't the reason Vem was nervous.

Vem turned and stared into the shadows beyond the observation deck. Two mismatched, glowing orbs stared back at him with a bloodied and unmoving jagged smile.

Just like a sadistic Cheshire.

…

"Are you men clear on the plan?" Gaz asked the MLSF personnel assembled en masse aboard a large Earth-made cruiser. It was a military project that had been in the works since the Dib-ship became a common commodity and had survived all the tests. This would be its first battle scenario.

The MLSF replied with a deafening cheer of compliance to their leader, the feared Gaz Membrane. She wore a black and purple MLSF uniform and cap and smirked slightly at the army before her. Dib could have all the science and knowledge; Gaz was happy with this military feat.

Dib and Tak slipped the red smiley-face armbands of the Resisty on and put their now three energy blades between them on their persons. Vem put on a Resisty mariner cap in Irken purple and a smiley armband on. Skoodge had Bob give a rousing military speech to inspire the less than five-hundred remaining Resisty members.

"We, the glorious members of the Resisty, stand proud today as comrades before the Irken Imperial threat!" Bob began. The speech went on for nearly three minutes and the air was electric from the Resisty members' hidden excitement. Bob finished his speech with a rousing battle cry and the Resisty members broke out into cheering and in the back some members began to sing the Interplanetary. Soon the song picked up singers and soon enough everyone was singing it except for Dib, Tak and Vem due to not knowing the lyrics.

"What are they singing?" Dib asked, interested. "It's the Interplanetary. We picked up transmissions of Earth's Internationale and kept the beat, changed the lyrics and bam! The Interplanetary." Bob gestured to the singing Resisty members. There was a grouping of various aliens in the front who were smiling, hugging each other and listing side to side while chanting the chorus. Dib smiled and wished Earth could be like that.

Maybe they could, considering the danger of the Irken Empire…

…

Tallest Red stood looking out the observation windows on the Massive's bridge. The Resisty had interceded and was quickly being dealt with by their cannons. Tallest Purple stood aside and continued to eat air-puffed snacks while drinking a soft drink.

"You know, we could just agree to the terms of surrender." Purple ventured and Red turned and scowled at him. "Are you nuts? We'd be giving up our titles, our kingdoms, our awesome ship and all our power!" He fumed. Purple shrugged. "But we'll be left alive and can work for our snacks instead of just getting them…" He felt a bitter taste in his mouth and realized he said 'work'.

"We'll live anyway! It's just a bunch of stupid Resisty fighters, just old Irken tech! They're all almost dead!" Red seethed. One of the navigators spoke up. "Sir, there appears to be a second fleet coming in from Earth…" He said nervously.

Red was at the scanners in an instant. "What?" He exclaimed in rage. "I didn't think the Earthanoids _had_ that kind of technology." Purple sat up from his slouching posture, talking in a worried tone. "They're not supposed to." Red said flatly.

"Just wipe them out! Set the main cannons to destroy the planet!" He ordered. The navigators sat nervously for a few moments. "But, Sir… that'll leave us exposed to the enemy ships…" One navigator spoke up. "JUST DO IT!" Red ordered. The navigators hastily turned to their work.

Red was rubbing his head when he heard Purple's voice behind him. "Hey, buddy. You need to relax. Have a soft drink and some nachos with me!" Purple invited him. The friendly spirit faded when Red turned and glared with pure disdain at his purple-coloured companion.

"I'll drink when this planet and Zim are dead." He stated flatly.

…

Vem was in his ship flying towards the Massive. A maelstrom of energy fire was flying past him. He had to keep the ship on auto, his hands too shaky to fly straight. He jumped at a troop dropship, one of many, exploding beside his ship, the lives of over a hundred people lost in an instant.

'_You didn't always fear death._' A familiar voice rang in his ears. Vem cursed and demanded the specter leave him alone. '_I'm afraid not, Vem. You're going to need me for this. Look at yourself: You're a damned wreck._' Bird explained.

Vem began chanting some breathing exercises, muttering random strings of Irken. When he opened his eyes, the daemonic Bird was gone. He was calming down, the shaking subsiding as he saw something that brought on a whole new wave of terror.

The main cannon was opened and powering up to destroy Earth. They had less than half an hour to stop it.

…

"Oh my Irk, they're readying the main cannon!" Tak declared over the comms. "Than they are exposed! Launch boarding vessels at the exposed areas!" Zim ordered. Gaz seconded the order, insuring her troops would follow.

Tak and Zim were in their own ships while Gaz and Dib piloted Tak's old ship. Bob and Skoodge were with their Resisty platoon on a dropship. They got into small, missile like ships with reinforced hulls and fired out of the dropship into the Massive's exposed weakened armour. The front of the ships opened up and Resisty infantry poured into the ships, disarming or killing the immediate crew.

Dib, Zim and Tak's ships were targeting a different point of entry: the Massive's bridge. They gunned the ships forward almost to the target. A stray turret shot struck Dib's ship and both Dib and Gaz plummeted into a different section of the ship several levels below the bridge.

Tak and Zim growled in irritation and broke through the bridge screenings.

The Resisty was onboard.

**Chapter 37 Completed, please R&R**

**The attack is working, though casualties are high. Can Earth pull through or will the evermore unstable Tallest Red prevail and remove the ball of filthy dirt from the galaxy? Find out next time in this horribly long fic :D**


	38. No Surrender

**This chap is GORY. Just a heads up.**

Gaz opened her eyes to see an Irken marine pointing a low-velocity shotgun at her. The marine was shouting orders, demands and threats at her in Irken. Gaz was too dizzied from the crash to react, not feeling much and everything coming in fuzzy. The marine cocked the shotgun, raised it and…

And no gunshot. It took Gaz a moment for her brain to register what had just happened. A figure in black had appeared in front of her and cut the Irken and his weapon right down the middle with a glowing purple blade. It was Dib.

His mouth moved and as feeling returned to Gaz she could hear a low grumble when he spoke. "What?" She asked dryly. "Are you alright, Gaz?" Dib repeated. Gaz could hear clearly now and began to feel sore or heated all over. She felt some trickling from her forehead and found that she had lost the MLSF cap she was wearing mere seconds ago. Or had it been minutes? Hours? Gaz could not tell.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She stood with the help of Dib's outstretched hand. She looked at the green messy halves that had been her assaulter. She didn't know Dib had it in him, but she smiled a little. "Can I use that?" She asked, indicating the energy blade. Dib held it in his hands and handed it to her reluctantly. It was a really cool thing to just give up.

"Use it well." Dib instructed. Gaz smirked, putting on a twisting and exotic sword-dancing display. "Oh, you can count on that." She replied as more Irken marines stormed the corridor where their ship crashed.

This was gonna be bloody.

…

Vem was behind an iron crate of Irken supplies as energy bolts seared the stale recycled air around from the Resisty and they were met with flying bits of shrapnel in response. Even though the shotguns were deemed 'low-impact' that didn't stop the metal shot eviscerating and cutting Resisty and UN soldiers down in ribbons.

Vem was having trouble gaining control of his hands. The voice in his head was arguing with him. '_Just give me control and I'll take those pesky Imperials off your hands for you… I won't hurt your friends… I promise._'

Vem closed his eyes and did his ritual. The whispers and ringing in his ears died down and his hands steadied. Vem rose with his own energy rifle. He fired off three consecutive energy bolts in a consecutive strand and two Irken marines fell over. It didn't mount up to the sheer losses on both sides, but it was his part in the battle.

He saw Bob move up with Tenn and Skoodge. They handed a tube-like weapon to Sizz-lor. "Ease!" He shouted and the others repeated it. A bright, fluorescent purple flame shot out of the back end and an explosive missile shot out the front blowing a small decking to pieces and killing nearly two dozen enemy troops.

Vem spotted something at one end of the bay and smiled. That would be useful. He quickly dashed towards it, avoiding the bits of shrapnel everywhere though he was sure he more than likely got hit. He jumped into the vehicle and powered it up.

"What's Vem doing?" Tenn let out, her scarlet eyes widening with surprise. The other Resisty officers and elite turned and gasped. It was a battle tank and Vem was turning the turret towards the decking where Irken troops were now fleeing from. He fired one shot that cut through the decking and blew a hole into the next level. He then operated the turret secondary weapon firing quick, light bolts of energy at the remaining enemies, mowing them down.

The smoke cleared and the few remaining Irkens fled the scene. There came a cheer from the Resisty as they moved up to seize the rest of the armoury and make it to the main cannon control center. Vem began to exit the tank but was stopped by Bob and Tenn, Sizz-lor and Skoodge having gone to move up with the others.

"Where do you think you're headed, Vem?" Tenn asked with a grin. "To fight." Vem said flatly. "And leave such a beautiful and destructive weapon behind? Not on my watch, trooper!" Bob argued. Vem smiled and let the other two Irkens into the tank.

Time to advance.

…

Zim and Tak were too late. They had broken into the command bridge, but the Tallest had fled to the security lounge. The bridge was now abandoned since the impact had sucked the remaining navigators out the broken windows before the emergency shutters had come down.

Before either Tak or Zim could curse or even growl in irritation the entrance points to the bridge opened and over a dozen Irken troops flooded in armed with close-ranged power weapons and low-impact shotguns.

Tak activated her pair of energy blades, taking on the first marine and slicing his limbs off. She kicked one of the limbs over to Zim and ordered him to take the weapon out of it. Zim obeyed, although disturbed at the sight of his own kind being viciously decapitated. He plucked the small power sword, roughly 30 Earth inches long, and flipped the power switch. It hummed and began to glow an off purple of the dull metal.

Tak was making progress as more troops flooded in through the entrance points. She hacked at one soldier, impaled another and then flipped a third over her shoulder to shield herself from a shotgun blast, the shrapnel ripping the soldier's squeedily-spooch to ribbons that hung loosely from his open gut.

Zim was slowly getting used to killing his former brethren, flinching when he chopped a charging Irken's head in half. He soon got past the queasiness and was hacking limbs and heads of left and right. More soldiers poured in and Zim grabbed a shotgun, merely shooting into the elevators as they opened and killing over five guards at a time with each shot.

Soon the attacks ceased and now more soldiers appeared. The bridge was slick with dark green gore a few centimeters deep. Tak and Zim caught their breath and sheathed their weapons. This was going to give both of them nightmares as they looked into the pool of green with decapitated and disemboweled Irkens floating in it.

They quickly got into an elevator to descend to a different level, but it was full of six corpses and had a pooling in it as well. The descent was awkward and disturbing for both of them as a smell reminiscent to cotton candy filled the air but had the stench of decay to it.

…

The aftermath of Dib and Gaz's duel with the Irkens had been a lot less bloody. The energy blade cauterized the wounds after cutting through or cutting off limbs. After a few soldiers fell, painfully, at Gaz's hand the other soldiers retreated in fear of her.

Dib hadn't even fired a shot and now ten soldiers laid sprawled and dead all of the place, odd splatter patterns on the walls from what blood had been spilt before the wounds sealed themselves up. "We've got to get moving." Gaz instructed and the two took quick notes of their surroundings and consulted their maps. Finding a quick route to the bridge wasn't too hard. It was getting there that would prove difficult.

They had to go down two levels to find another elevator platform that could take them to the command bridge and when they did they saw that there was a gaping hole through two levels of flooring. "What the hell happened here?" Gaz asked in genuine surprise. They could see Resisty members charging and cheering below and realized they were looking down into the armoury. They could see the Massive's main cannon still prepping up, so large and indestructible that nothing short of a nuclear explosion would destroy it.

"Let's join up with them and see if we can't get a hold of Zim and Tak and see if they dealt with the Tallest or not." Dib suggested. Gaz immediately jumped out and landed on a tank that had come out of nowhere, hurting her legs. The tank stopped when Dib landed on it and both clones rolled off of it.

Vem opened the hatch. "Dib-human? Gaz-human? Aren't you two supposed to be on the bridge?" He asked them, bewildered. "Well, we crashed short of the destination and some idiot blew up the nearest elevator shaft." Gaz gestured to the gaping hole in the ship. Oops." Vem muttered. "'Oops'?" Gaz repeated.

"Never mind the hole. Vem, can you give us a lift?" Dib asked. "Sure, hop on." Vem offered. The two humans got onto the hovering tank and held on as at lurched forward, waves of cheering Resisty, UN, PMC and MLSF soldiers cheering at the sight of the Resisty/Earthling heroes riding into battle on a captured enemy weapon.

"Zim and Tak just reported in; the Tallest retreated somewhere into the Massive's core." Bob reported from inside the tank. "Coincidently the controls for the cannon are also inside, near the power source of the ship…" Vem said, consulting a handheld device that displayed a mapping of the Massive. What a coincidence that Irken and Earthling technology ran on the same server.

"I got a marker on them." Tenn reported, "Our squads are getting mowed down by internal defenses. They've quit bothering with the low-impact rounds and are using heavy slug-shooters, missiles, hell even energy cannons!" Bob cursed lightly in response.

"They've congregated around the power station of the entire ship. The controls are within their grasp as well." Tenn explained. "Looks like both our objectives are in the same place." Gaz muttered.

The final battle against the Irken Empire on their own flagship. Either the highest honour or the most degrading insult.

…

Tallest Red was seething at Purple's paranoid spews and the continuing notices of retreat and defeat from their tacticians. "What are we going to do? They're overrunning our emplacements in waves! Every one of them we kill, three come in his place! It's madness!" Purple ranted.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Red snapped and Purple calmed down with hurt in his eyes. "Just. Shut. Up." Red said slowly. He took in a few more deep breaths and looked out their blast shielded and shatterproof windows to see all the weapons and vehicles they could retrieve from the armoury firing out at literal hordes of Resisty and Earth soldiers. They were using commando tactics, but in such a large skill conflict the death rate was still frightening.

"I'm sorry, Purp. It's this damned Resisty… They've been such a burden and now reports of Zim and Vem on the ship… I'm half-tempted to blow the whole damn ship up…" Red said. Purple eyed him curiously. "But, you wouldn't… Right?" He asked. Red exhaled deeply.

"Well, no… Not unless we could escape. But now everything is going to shit…" He seethed. Purple gasped. "Language." Purple reminded him and Red growled. "Who gives a flying Irken FUCK about language, Purp?" Red hissed. Purple took a few startled steps back.

"Sorry, sorry. This Operation, the Resisty… Vem and Zim… It's all just having such stress on me. I can't eat! I can't sleep! I'm angst-ridden and depressed or just violent and angry! I don't mean to take it out on you." Red apologized, rubbing his eyes.

"It's ok, buddy." Purple replied smoothly with a warm smile, "We just need to take a breather; to relax." Red nodded agreement. "I kind of want to surrender." He muttered. Purple's eyes widened. "Really? You were all warrior-god about this a second ago." He asked.

"Yeah, but this has gone on long enough. We're terrible leaders! Sure, we've conquered some worlds and kept an Empire running, but I liked things better when we had privileges but not this much responsibility! I'd like to go back and work as, oh I don't know, mail clerk." Red admitted. Purple snickered.

"A mail clerk?" He asked. Red chuckled. "Well, with the Resisty on the rise the pay will increase and the hours will shorten. It's not like we'd have to do that much anyway." He said. He smiled; this change could actually be pretty good.

"General Sturm! Get over here!" Red ordered a tall Irken, just a few inches shorter than either of them. He had several scars on his face, his upper face covered by a metal plate with a single red optic in the center. There were only a few Irkens with that feature in the entire Empire and the most famous was the IMBN announcer. Sturm also wore a flowing Irken greatcoat and battle armour, a power sword at his belt and the typical high collar of the Irken military covering his lower face.

"What is it you request, my Tallest?" Sturm asked with some resentment to his voice but still showed the loyal soldiering spirit of the Irken military by putting his gloved hand over his chest and bowing slightly. He had been an officer of the Miyuki regime and wished more than anything for them to go back to that glorious era. He saw the new Tallest as a joke and hated them for their illogical tactics and overdependence on snacks. If he had been given complete control over the Operation, Zim and Vem would have been summarily executed, all the planets would be conquered and a warrior like Tak would've been put to good use rather than locked out of the Elite because of some poor rules.

"Get us over the P.A. system and convince the enemy to a temporary ceasefire. I'd- We'd like to say a few words." Red gestured to Purple. Sturm gave another Elite-grade half-bow and turned on his heels to fetch a comms specialist. Soon he had the fighting put to rest and handed the comms to the Tallest.

…

Tak and Zim had made it to lower level and were greeted by their human lovers. They both sighed in relief at the fact neither of the humans had died in the crash and were fine right now. After their reunion and a slight advance to the massive battlefield a call came through from Lard Nar.

"The Tallest have called for a ceasefire to relay a message to our troops. Please standby and cease fire unless they continue fire on you." Lard Nar ordered.

Vem stopped the tank and noticed as guns across the line began to cease firing on both sides. There were bodies of humans, Irkens, Vortians, Saurians and every other walk of sentient life strewn out with weapons in their hands in a twisted and bloody battlefield that had once just been a living complex near the central power core which was now shielded and coated in metal.

Suddenly the radios in the tank worked up. "Hello, is this thing on?" Red's voice rang out, "Excellent! Purple, you want to tell them?" Purple's voice then joined in. "Sure. Resisty members! The Tallest, and by extension the remainder of the Irken Empire, wish to talk terms of surrender!"

Everyone in the tank began to raise eyebrows questioningly or had their eyes widen in surprise. Murmuring began to act up through waiting troop legions on both sides. One Irken soldier on the Imperial side questioned: "So we don't have to fight anymore?"

"This isn't a trick," Red assured, "We're just sick of all this leadership crap. Let's face it; Tallest Purple and I kind of suck at our jobs. We'd rather go out for a more easy going and useful job, like…" "Like being mail clerks!" Purple chimed in. "Yeah, like being mail clerks. Basically, can every one of you just give us a second chance and let us live as civilians? The Resisty make this new non-empire Empire sound so nice, Purple and I are willing to give it a shot!"

The Resisty was silent and contemplated if they could forgive their former abusive leaders. "They did say sorry. Seemed like they meant it." Vem said. "And that excuses them from the crimes they've committed?" Tak asked. "Well, that was mostly because they sucked as leaders. They might be good… er… mail clerks." Dib reasoned. "Zim is willing to forgive his former leaders. What would them dying at our hands prove other than we are as bad as them?" Zim chimed in. Tak groaned in defeat. Zim was right, as rare as that was.

Suddenly another voice joined in over the comms. "You spineless fools!" The voice growled in an educated accent, "You would dare let the great Irken Empire perish just so you guys might have an easier life? Cowards!" Purple's voice piped up again. "Hey, buddy, just calm down…" He said. "I am assuming control of the Empire now! You have failed your duties as leaders and disgraced our glorious Empire! Guards! Take these traitors from my sight!" The voice ordered. "You can't do this! We're still the Tallest; we have a right to surrender if we want!" Purple argued while Red cursed in the background.

"Oh, don't worry. You're Resisty-scum shall join you in mere moments. Remove their PAKs! Death to cowards and traitors of our Empire!" The voice rang over the P.A. as Red and Purple's presence seemingly disappeared from the audio. "Soldiers! Return to your fighting with renewed vigor! Destroy the Resisty scum and your traitor brethren! For Miyuki! For Irk! For the glory of the Empire!" The voice screamed out and the transmission cut.

Then the Irken lines cheered before opening up more explosively then they had before.

**Chapter 38 Completed, please R&R**

**I go through antagonists like I go through moods: Vem, Vem's Computer, Tallest, and Sturm. Let it never be said the great Nitto did not believe in plot development at ludicrous speeds and (mis)proportions!**


	39. The Battle Rages On

Bright flashes of energy and sabot-cored solid slugs flung overhead. This battle had just been reignited and caught the Resisty by surprise. A few moments ago the Tallest had surrendered but then they were removed from command and it seemed like the Irken soldiers were fighting harder because of it; like now their defective leaders were gone they could fight with actual pride again at their new leader: Supreme Tallest Sturm.

Vem ducked pack into the tank with his fellow Irkens Tenn and Bob. "They're lighting everything up out there!" Vem reported, experiencing a few near-misses. Tenn growled. "Irk damn Sturm! The Tallest had practically given the remaining Irkens a way out of this mess, a way to a new and better life, and out of some damned pride he dragged them back into it! I would expect that a few years from now, but a few seconds? That idiot!" She fumed.

Bob blushed; she was so cute when she was angry. "Wipe that goofy grin off before I knock it off!" Tenn growled and Bob returned to the comms unit, whistling. "What do we do?" Vem asked. "We're in a tank, you bugger! What the bloody hell do you think we do?" Tenn responded, jumping into the piloting seat. Vem got into the firing station and took aim.

Heavy weapons emplacements were well protected from light arms fire and were tearing down the waves of soldiers. Tak-saviour was out there and he'd be damned if she was going to fry while he still lived. He took aim and fired an energy cannon round. A purple streak of light went blazing past the ranks of infantry and collided with a gun emplacement armed with an older solid-slug gun. The munitions sparked and made the explosion even larger, killing nearly a dozen surrounding soldiers and the crews of the emplacements adjacent to it.

"Good shot, Vem." Tenn smiled after calming down. Vem smiled back. The irony of how battle calmed her temperamental nature.

…

Gaz, Tak, Zim and Dib were at the forefront of the combat with Resisty soldiers and Earth troops. Their presence alone inspired the Resisty members to work harder, cheering and singing as they fought, their already stressed bodies being a stressed a little more. Some Earth soldiers caught onto 'The Interplanetary' hymn as 'The Internationale' and began to sing in their own tongues as well, though not many of the troopers knew the tune.

Dib and Zim had armed themselves with energy weapons from their respective homeworlds and power swords. Gaz and Tak, however, were charging with their energy blades, Tak wielding two while Gaz wielded hers just as fearful. There was a ring of almost unnoticeable MLSF members surrounding the iconic heroes. If one of them fell, morale would drop substantially.

Energy blasts were cutting through swathes of infantry but still the Resisty-Earth forces were making ground. The tank they had capture was busy taking out anti-infantry emplacements while Resisty equipped with heavy weapons took out the few battle tanks and anti-tank artillery they had set up.

Sizz-lor joined the grouping of human-Irken warriors along with his superior Skoodge. "Hey Zim!" Skoodge waved. Zim returned the wave and nearly stumbled at the sight of Sizz-lor. "What is he doing here?" Zim asked in dismay. Skoodge looked from Zim to Sizz-lor and back again. "Oh right, you guys know each other. He's our best soldier." Skoodge said. Both Gaz and Tak put on an impressive display of dodging and deflecting energy shots with their blades. "Ok, well he was our best soldier. Now he's second best." Skoodge corrected himself.

Sizz-lor grunted and hefted an Irken energy minigun he'd misappropriated from an old Irken emplacement. Energy bolts seared across the Irken Imperial emplacements, cutting soldiers and gunners down. Skoodge pursed his lips. "Alright, so it might be a three-way tie." He admitted. Sizz-lor grinned.

They were almost to the enemy lines… almost.

…

"Sir, the enemy is nearly at our door. What do we do?" An officer asked Sturm. Sturm stood in contemplation for a moment, looking at the power core. "Divert energy from the cannons. We no longer need to destroy that ball of dirt… yet." Sturm ordered. "What do we do with the energy?" The officer asked.

"Activate the defense shields." Sturm replied with a grin beneath his collar.

…

Vem and his tank crew were so close to the wall now, as with over a ten-thousand troops including the Resisty-Earth heroes, Dib, Tak-saviour, Gaz and Zim. The daemon in his mind was screeching, but he was successfully keeping it out of control.

Suddenly a bright light flashed above and behind them and Vem heard the comms go dead. The life-sensors aboard the tank cut off a large percentage of the blips behind them off and Tenn cursed. "They've taken power away from the cannon and are using it to charge shields." Bob reported.

Vem, his crew, his friends and only ten-thousand soldiers out of the millions that had boarded and the few hundred-thousand against them were penned off. The daemon was screaming now.

…

"They've penned us in!" Dib announced. Gaz cursed colourfully as Zim shoved the group to the ground. Several soldiers around them were cut to pieces by emplacement fire. "That was close; thanks Zim." Dib said. Tak let out a startled thank you and Gaz showed her gratitude with a kiss.

"We've got to make it to that wall." Tak explained and was dismayed to see the numbers dropping around her. "Let's hurry then." Gaz said and the group set off in a mad dash to the main core. Tak took note of several tram-ways linking into the station. A shame the trams were all shut down and the tunnels locked or else they could have just ridden or snuck in there.

They reached the wall as Gaz was struck by a stray round. "Gaz!" The team screamed simultaneously. "Argh! I'm alright! Just hit my leg." Gaz had struggled breath as she moved the blue fatigues, dark with blood, up over the wound. It had shattered her left shin.

"You can't move like this!" Dib exclaimed. "Zim, tell Dib he's being stupid." Gaz ordered. "Sorry Gaz-flower, but Dib is right! I will not let you move on up until you have proper medical treatment." He argued. Gaz growled but let it go. The leg hurt immensely.

"We can't go anywhere anyway." Sizz-lor noted, patting the solid wall. It would take an immense force to shatter through it. That force came from a fully-charged energy blast pounding a wall segment a few yards away into rubble. Several more shots and the wall cracked open and collapsed slightly.

The tired troops turned to see the captured battle tank float closer to them, firing off a few more shots at the wall before the life flickered out of it and the thing fell hard against the ship deck. Vem, Tenn and Bob quickly got out of the spent tank.

Looking back Vem could see why hundreds of the blips on the life-scanners had cut out. The soldiers charging had been cut in half by the shields, an instant death. He could also see the rest of the army stuck at the shields, Larz's unit somewhere among them. He hadn't been at the forefront of the attack with the others, opting to join his father at the rearguard.

"Zim, you stay here with Gaz and watch over her." Dib ordered, hesitantly. He didn't like the idea of leaving his sister behind. It hurt him on the inside. But now she wasn't alone without Dib; she had Zim now and Zim nodded with assurance, taking this duty as a personal honour.

The others prepared to enter the gaping hole in the wall, possibly to die from being outmanned. Tenn and Bob were the last ones in but Tenn stopped Bob for a moment. "Bob, before we go in there, there's something I need to tell you." She said nervously. Bob stood for a moment, eyebrow quirked. "You are a snarky, inconsiderate asshole who has so much charisma with others and it pisses me off." She said flatly and Bob pursed his lips as a result.

Tenn pulled him in for a quick kiss before releasing him and picking up her rifle. "But you were right about me liking people like that." She winked and quickly entered the hole. Bob stood their, stunned and blushing for a moment. "Well follow her, you idiot!" Gaz called out to him, snapping him out of his daze. Bob quickly went in after her as Zim and Gaz began reminiscing to pass the wait for a medical team.

Bob hadn't missed much advancing. The tram systems Tak saw outside were still working and were being used to transport munitions around the emplacements. Tak had resorted to her and the other soldiers using hand signals and stealth to navigate past the Irken emplacements and the hurrying soldiers running up to replace their dead comrades.

Behind the emplacements was a tram that was coated with dead Irkens; the casualties of the war. The Irkens in the group cringed in disgust at the fact the Irkens were so much shorter than themselves, the equivalent of Dib seeing a car full of dead teens. The Empire was practically using nothing more than teenagers to run their armies.

Finally the group reached a clearing and Tak cursed silently. They couldn't pass out of the shadows quickly enough to get to the other side. Vem scratched his chin and pulled out something from his PAK. It was an Irken disguise kit used for physical blending into enemy societies; Invader-standard issue.

He selected the colour for his contact, red, and placed it over his purple eye. He created an artificial antenna and stuck it to his head, keeping his real antenna down to match it. Finally he removed his armband. Tak activated an Irken disguise that made her look like a standard female Irken with scarlet eyes instead of violet, complete with her unusual garbs being replaced by Irken standard issue. Bob and Tenn repeated the method of switching their eyes to purple.

"What about us?" Dib asked, indicating the fact Sizz-lor and Skoodge had been left out and he was human. Tak gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Dib. You have to go back with the others. I'll meet up with you soon." Tak said. They kissed quickly before Dib retreated the way they'd come.

"Why can't we disguise ourselves?" Skoodge, shorter than even Vem asked. Sizz-lor towered over even Tak. Tak let out an 'eh…' and a weird hand gesture. "Because you two are too… renown and the Irken military will recognize you." She explained without lying. Skoodge cursed his luck and ordered Sizz-lor to follow him out back the way they came.

The four remaining Irkens, their Resisty symbols shed, began to march towards the command center. None of the enemy Irkens seemed to notice, thought quite a few male Irkens eyed the disguised Tenn and Tak with interest. They both shuddered.

Finally they reached the command room. This was it. Vem took the honour of kicking the door in, stunning the officers grouped around. Sturm didn't even flinch.

Vem raised his weapon as did the others. Sturm turned and raised his hands in mock surrender. "You pitiful Resisty soldiers have got me. But why?" He asked. They glared at him. They weren't going to respond so Sturm continued.

"Why betray the Empire? You are some of the greatest soldiers I've ever seen! Especially you, Tak." He said. Tak lowered her weapon, startled and deactivated her hologram. "How did you know?" She demanded. Sturm tapped his glowing red eye. "This is called an 'upgrade' for a reason, my dear." He chuckled lightly.

"Give us a reason we shouldn't fry you?" Bob asked. Sturm tsked. "I was an Invader back during Operation Impending Doom I. The idiots were in charge back then, too, and let Zim get his hands on a maim-bot. If nothing else, you should let me live out of my service to our people." He explained.

Vem spoke up. "And where are the Tallest anyway?" He asked. "Your former leaders are sitting in a nice prison cell without their PAKs. They should be dead in a few minutes. Takes longer for the taller ones, but they'll get theirs, I can assure you of that." Sturm said.

"Anyway, I'm going to offer you a chance to join me." He changed subjects, "You can join my side as rulers in a new, great Irken Empire. It can be glorious once more! Like before, when Miyuki was in charge." Bob contemplated it. He hadn't been a table-drone before then. He shook the thought off. "Never." Tak answered for all of them.

'_Better duck…_' The daemon's voice whispered and for once Vem listened to it. A split segment after him dropping, a series of energy bolts whizzed over him and struck the others down. They were still alive but roughed up. "That was only at half power. Join me or you'll see them at their full setting." Sturm said. Apparently he hadn't seen Vem duck and must have assumed him hit.

Vem took the advantage and fired a single shot from his energy carbine, blowing out Sturm's red eye. Sturm cursed vividly before falling back and letting the Irken Imperial troops deal with them. Several harder shots struck the downed Irkens as Vem fired at them and managed to close the doors and lock them. That should hold them long enough.

He turned towards the wounded and half dragged, half carried them towards an empty armoured tram. Tak was muttering something. "What?" Vem asked. "You can't do this alone…" She muttered. Tenn and Bob were moaning in the back of the tram. "I can't let you get hurt, Tak-saviour." Vem replied, the daemon in his head swirling around defiantly.

"Why not?" She asked redundantly. "Because I owe you a life debt." Vem said flatly. "But you can't just go in there alone…" Tak replied weakly, trying to sit up but falling back from a wound to her side. Vem unlocked the tram doors in the walls and planned a path. He quickly grabbed one of Tak's energy blades.

"It's not open to debate." Vem replied before sending the tram off and closing the overhead armour as it sped off. He turned and looked back at the door as it began to unlock and activated the energy blade, its purple glow backwashing across him as he awaited the coming fight. The daemon in his head was drooling in anticipation.

Vem was going to prove his second chance had been worth the risk. He was going to pay back that debt and save Earth.

He was going to be the saviour this time.

**Chapter 39 Completed, please R&R**

**First, I would like to say it damn-near brought a tear to my eye when I saw the fact I have 80 reviews on this fic. Thank you all for being such awesome readers and reviewing; thanks even to those that don't review! I know how you feel, I don't review too much either.**

**Secondly, I just want to say this story is nearing its end, but I promise I will make it as awesome an end as my abilities will allow! I'm not going to lie, I'm pulling material from various sources of my mind and throwing it out. It will go back to the DaTr and ZaGr after this whole final boss fight thing is finished with and the epilogue and all this junk. I still don't know how many chaps I have in store, but I don't think it will be over five.**

**Readers, I loves ya!**


	40. Martyrdom

Vem ran through the corridor of charging troops, slashing as he went. One Irken soldier stumbled as his foot came off with a scream. Another let out a shriek as his hand was removed at the wrist. Vem sliced a few rifles in half and knocked their carriers out with swift kicks to the head. He wasn't here to kill them.

Sturm was in the command room just ahead, a platoon-sized force of Irken Elite guarding it. Vem had to get the shields shut down if nothing else. He charged into the platoon, disarming them as they came. A solid-slug rifle exploded in one Irken's hands as the energy blade swept through and ignited the ammunition. Vem didn't have time to check if he was alive or not.

He had to reach Sturm.

…

Dib, Sizz-lor and Skoodge were sitting outside the gaping hole in the wall, chatting about the past with the wounded Gaz and her beloved Zim. Gaz had gotten her leg patched up with medical wrap and had it sanitized. Still, she wished she could have joined in the fighting.

They quit noticing as they saw the tram doors in the wall open up and a single tram from a few feet away fly out and turned towards them. Sizz-lor raised his weapon in defense. For all they knew the trams could be packed with explosives. But instead of detonating, the bullet-picked tram came to a stop a few feet away from them.

Dib approached it, his weapon drawn. If it was full of explosives the weapon would be useless, but it was a comforter. Dib grabbed the armoured cover and flipped it back, gasping as he saw the contents. "Guys! I need some help over here!" Dib called back to the others.

Sizz-lor and Skoodge ran up to him and helped hoist three wounded Irkens out from the tram. Zim and Gaz noticed Tak was conscious but a tad dizzied while Bob and Tenn had fallen asleep from exhaustion struggling for a way out of the tram.

Gaz noticed one was missing. "Where's Vem?" She asked. Tak looked up and gave a confused glance so Gaz repeated herself. "He's… he's going after Sturm…" Tak confessed. Dib almost dropped her in surprise but would never do such a thing. "By himself?" He asked. "I couldn't stop him…" Tak replied as strength returned to her.

"We've got to go back and help!" Zim said. "Half of us are wounded, idiot." Gaz reminded him. Zim cursed lightly at that fact. "There's no way Vem can get to the shield controls and shut this thing down by himself." Dib thought out loud.

As if to prove him wrong the shields deactivated behind them and a resounding cheer of Resisty-Earth soldiers filled the recycled air as the rearguard of millions joined in the weakening assault and pummeled the Irken defenses. Even the group of officers cheered.

Their cheering ceased when the radio calls from the defense detachment in the armoury reported something dreadful underway.

…

Vem cut the armoured door in half and kicked it in. The sound of moaning and groaning wounded Irken troops was behind him as they began to retreat to the frontlines for better medical aide and more troops. Vem saw Sturm at the command controls, Purple and Red a few feet away gasping and wheezing, their PAKs a mere few feet away from them.

Vem approached the Irken general. "Sturm, deactivate these shields and surrender or die." He spoke calmly even though his adrenaline had fueled the daemon in his head. He tried to look confident, but the daemon was causing his arms to shake slightly.

Sturm hit a switch and Vem noticed the sound of the shields shutting down and a huge cheer from outside. That was too easy. Vem eyed the officer carefully, seeing a grin beneath that high collar of his. Before Vem could ask what the catch was, Sturm pulled out an auto-energy pistol and began shooting the control panel, frying it.

Vem then noticed the computers reporting optimal energy levels towards the Massive's main cannon. Its target was Earth and it would fry the ships in front of it before killing the entire planet. Vem growled in fury before charging Sturm. A swift punch to the gut and Vem felt an unimaginable pain rip through him, dropping the energy blade.

Vem fell to his knees and saw Sturm stand over him. "You pathetic little fool." Sturm said before round-housing Vem in his face, sending him across the floor in a spatter of green blood. Vem began to inch his way to the fallen blade, realizing the pain was from his old wound ripping open again.

Another boot to the face and when Vem came to he witnessed Sturm pick the weapon up. The general quickly figured out how it operated and flipped it in his hands with relative ease. "I'm the number one power swordsman in the Empire, you know." He informed the wounded Irken, "It should be an honour that you'll die by my hands."

Then Vem's eyes shot open with the term 'hands'. Sturm struck down, true and hard, only for the blade to be blocked off of the energy-humming augments of Vem. Vem stood with struggling breath and began to fend off further assaults from the hands of Sturm. Sturm cursed as he continued the assault.

Vem finally kicked out with his leg, knocking Sturm in the gut, then grabbed the general's wrist. Using the strength of the augmented arm he crushed Sturm's arm and the general screamed in response, dropping the energy blade. Vem threw Sturm across the room and into the broken control panel.

Sturm, his breath leveling out and the broken arm nestled against his chest, glared at Vem with his red, robotic eye. "You can't stop the Massive from destroying your pitiful Earth. It will forever be wiped from the galaxy; that symbol of Resistance. It will be wiped out, your army's morale will drop and my soldiers will overrun and wipe them out with renewed vigor. You've lost." He spat at the severely-wounded Vem.

Vem, his breath strained and his mind going dizzy looked at the destroyed control panel. "Nothing short of blowing the ship up could stop it now! Not even cutting off its energy feeds!" Sturm laughed. '_Big batteries can create some nasty explosions…_' Bird's robotic and cackling voice fed through Vem's head.

Vem ejected his PAK legs and stabbed them into Sturm's limbs. He then cut the limbs off with the energy blade. Sturm let out a sharp scream but then laughed at the display. "Torturing me! Like that'll do anything!" He said.

Vem plugged his PAK communicator into the control comms. "This is Vem to all forces, both Imperial and Resisty. I'm ordering a full retreat from the ship." He spoke with renewed strength.

…

Dib helped carry Gaz back onto a transport procured by the Resisty. The enemy lines were falling into disarray as orders quit coming in from their commanders. Dib and the others were heading back to officer emplacements and letting the waves of soldiers finish the job. Suddenly a call came through.

"This is Vem to all forces…" Vem's voice came out through the P.A. and all radio bands. Gaz hushed her friends so they could listen to what he had to say. "I am requesting a full retreat from both forces from the Massive. I've located the Tallest and am attending to their PAKs as I speak. Please treat them as civilians and help them out of this warzone. The controls to the super cannon are shot up; I repeat, the main guns cannot be shut down." There was a defeated groan across the Resisty-Earth lines and a spike of terror in the officers.

"However, the mission is not dead." Vem's voice continued and the soldiers and officers perked up. "I'm going to attempt to overload the ship's energy core and destroy the ship before it fires in… fifteen Earth minutes. Please exit the ship and I shall join your ranks soon. I'm sending the former Tallest out now. Please abort and tend to the wounded. Vem over and out."

Then there was static as the transmission was ended. "We have to go back and help him." Tak urged, getting up but falling back into the transport from her side wound. Dib shook his head. "He's just going to overload the core and get out. He can make it." Dib said, not quite believing it.

They looked back at Skoodge as he got off a PAK communiqué with Lard Nar. "Lard Nar's ordered the retreat. He says if Vem can really stop this thing we shouldn't risk losing millions of soldiers." He declared. Gaz frowned. "This feels wrong." She said, "Like we're abandoning him…"

"We're not abandoning him. I think he's got the skill to take out the core and get out in time. Hell, he made it that far and took the control room singlehandedly!" Bob, recovered, argued. Dib and Tenn nodded agreement. "Zim trusts Vem on this; and I would not like to be onboard this ship when the core overloads." Zim said. The others agreed reluctantly and boarded the transport.

The transport turned to leave as ranks of Resisty-Earth soldiers turned into retreat. There were Irken Imperial troops abandoning their posts and taking transports to follow the fleeing ranks of Resisty. Apparently they'd learned of the energy core and had taken Vem's advice since the collapse of their command.

…

Vem stood in silent pain as he helped the weary Red and Purple up off their feet, their PAKs reequipped. "You… saved us…" Purple said in disbelief. "Consider it my final service to my ex-leaders." Vem responded with a smile. "But why?" Red asked. "Everyone deserves a second chance." Vem replied again. Red repeated the phrase in a weakened whisper. "Wise words…" He said before leaving with his friend.

"You let them live? Idiot!" Sturm hollered at Vem. Vem made sure the team of medically-treated, though wounded, Elite were there to escort the ex-Tallest to a transport train fleeing the vicinity of the core. "Make sure they make it out ok, alright?" Vem called out to one of the Irkens he'd spared. It was the one whose solid-slug rifle exploded and he was severely bandaged. The Elite still turned back to Vem and saluted. "Of course, Vem." The Elite said before respectfully half-bowing and turning to escort the wounded back to the transports.

Vem returned his attention back to Sturm. "You still have time to join them. You can start over as a civilian; serve the Irkens in rebuilding Irk to be a happier place. End the Empire and join the New Irk." Vem offered. Sturm spat a blood-filled wad at his feet. Vem shook his head sadly and picked up the power blade.

Vem sat in contemplation for a few moments longer until the comms chatter indicated the majority of transports had made it to their ships and were leaving the Massive. Sturm had quieted down. There was no way he'd make it out in time if he chose to leave now and then he realized Vem couldn't escape either.

"You're going to die in the explosion." Sturm put it simply. Vem shrugged. "But I'm saving a planet. It's worth it." Vem said, then corrected himself, "Actually, I'm saving hundreds of planets." Sturm scowled. "You're destroying our Empire; our legacy!" Vem, now in better terms with his inner daemons, looked the general over.

"A legacy of conquering and war, pain and oppression, etcetera, etcetera. What kind of legacy is that? War, well war happens. It's a habit of humanity; the outcome of multiple societies. Conquering? That happens too, another outcome of multiple societies. It's a habit; a stress relief for societies. It's when one society takes it so far to adopt it as a national religion that that civilization might be crossing the line. Might be. It makes them dangerous, but if they're good people and have good leaders, they're still alright. It's when that same nation puts the idea of supremacy into the heads of their civilians, creates a sense of unequivocal pride that the civilization cannot live down, that the line is crossed. With that pride and the warlike philosophy in place, empires charge each other not out of hatred for the enemy government or for territory or beliefs; no, they conquer and kill out of hatred of the 'inferior' enemy's people. Pathetic, useless legacy." Vem explained.

Sturm growled in defeat. He was going to die here with this liberal, overzealous hypocrite and all he had to show for it was that he inspired his troops for a few hours. Now they had all fled and the ship was empty and his attack on Earth might very well be ended. There was only three minutes left now.

Vem rose, weakened heavily by his reopened wound. He took several meek steps towards the exposed energy core. "Besides, I was going to die anyway." Vem smiled, referring to Sturm's earlier question about why he was sacrificing himself. Vem's daemon began to speak as Vem activated the energy blade.

'And so the troubled youth take the blade to the heart of the vile beast…' Bird's voice worded, 'His journey completed, his debt repaid… His daemons vanquished, his conscience cleared, a valiant hero borne from the ashes of a devilish entity…' Vem struck the energy blade, set to full power, into the core's main power box. A static-filled humming filled the air as a powerful shock overrode Vem, destroyed his PAK and blinded Sturm's damaged eye.

'Rest in peace, noble martyr…' The last words floating through Vem's head. He finally saw the daemon for what it was. It was not a daemon, but an angel. It was the Angel of Death, and Vem was being collected for doing his job well; his journey completed...

A sound of thunder filled the ship before the vacuum of space silenced it.

**Chapter 40 Completed, please R&R**

**I always found martyrdom to be the greatest way to go if it were for a good cause. Sorry if that death bummed anyone out :/**


	41. Cupcake of Honour

**Great news! My Mom's truck is dead and gone, so no trip to Louisiana! I got until next Friday to finish this fic.**

Lard Nar ordered the sun-shields down over the windows to protect the occupants' eyes from the brightness of the blast. It wasn't too large of an explosion, but it did tear the Massive virtually in half and blew many of the compartments off into space. Theories of Vem sneaking off into any of these compartments to survive the blast were speculated, but everybody knew there was no way to time an explosion of such force and predict where to hide to escape it.

Gaz punched her fist through a control panel that probably had served some purpose for lighting since the lights dimmed as a result of her force. Zim, Dib and Tak eyed her with the same furious, sympathetic glare in their eyes. "That idiot went and blew himself up…" Gaz spoke for all of them, "and we let him."

There was a painful air of silence around the Resisty-Earth officers. Out of the Battle of the Massive, the end of the Great Imperial End-y Crusade (whoever came up with the name wasn't a clever man), millions had entered the battle and over 560,272 soldiers of the Resisty-Earth forces had died. The Irken Imperial Forces lost nearly 50,000 in that battle. The wounded, numbering in the millions, had been rescued thus sparing the casualty record thousands more numbers. Both ex-Imperials and Resisty-Earth forces were aboard the Resisty and Earth transports.

"You shouldn't blame yourselves…" Lard Nar spoke up, "I figured he could escape in time; I trusted him with the task. I ordered everyone to evacuate the ships and help the surrendering Irkens aboard and to tend to wounded." He rubbed his eyes in a slight display of grief. They'd lost a good man, almost as much of an icon for the Resisty now as Dib, Tak and Larz were.

"He was good." A new voice on the deck sounded and the officers all turned to see a recovering Red and Purple march in. The officers aboard the bridge all glared at their ex-torturers, but Tak, Gaz, Dib and Zim glared with particular distaste. "Our apologies for… well, for everything." Red said, his weary eyes a combination of pain and fatigue.

The officers assembled merely returned to their work, ignoring the ex-Tallest. The group of heroes continued to stare in distaste at them. Red sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Purple whispered something in his ear about a plan they'd devised. "Alright, Captain Lard Nar, is it?" Red asked.

"Yes?" The Resisty leader acknowledged them. "We were just wondering what kind of work we could do around the ship for you? We're, well, we're kind of bored and are starting to feel like a burden." Purple said. "You are a burden." Lard Nar glared. Red and Purple winced and exhaled sharply. "Fair enough, but surely there's some amount of work we could do?" Red asked.

The Irken officers aboard the deck, Tak and Zim included, were staring questioningly at their ex-leaders. That wasn't the Tallest they knew before; the Tallest they knew would never ask for work. They'd never work! "Well, I guess you could work as floor sweepers…" Lard Nar suggested, almost reluctantly.

"Woo! Thanks, Lardy, you won't regret it!" Red zoomed off with Purple. Lard Nar sat there, one amongst the many stunned officers. "'Lardy'?" Lard Nar repeated.

…

The next day, thousands of Irken Imperial soldiers stood in their best garbs before waves of humans. They were on Earth, at the signing of a peace treaty and official surrender of the Irken Empire to the Resisty Union of Planet-States. Earth was also signing, but as a show of allegiance.

"By signing this, all parties agree to keep their governments to their own planet, their species free to roam around and see other worlds within the Union of Planet-States and different planetary governments operating together on scientific expeditions and projects if given consent by the majority of RUPS representatives. Do you understand?" An Earthanoid politician read aloud to the assembled leaders or representatives from various planets.

"Aye." Earth's unanimously elected leader, Dib Membrane spoke. "Sure." Red and Purple shrugged, knowing they weren't going to be leaders much longer anyway. "Of course." Saurian leader and Larz's father, Galhorn, agreed. "Aye." Lard Nar, elected leader of the Vortians, stated. A few other leaders of various alien cultures and planets agreed to the terms and signed their names.

The Resisty Union of Planet-States was formed; the Irken Empire disbanded.

…

A funeral was held in honour of all who fell at the Battle for the Massive and the entire Great Imperial End-y Crusade in general. It was held on Earth, the site of the final battle and official surrender and disbanding. A large statue of varying Resisty species was made, each modeled after various lost heroes. A wall containing the names of casualties on both sides was lighted and displayed behind the statue. The Irken model had an uncanny likeness to Vem although the antenna was still intact.

The event was broadcasted across the galaxy and nearly every soul watched with a mixed sense of respect and mourning. The officers of the Resisty-Earth forces were all in dress uniform of their various nationalities/planets and stood, saluting, at the statue and wall. Millions of humans and aliens who had stopped by to visit and watch the ceremony in person were standing around the cleared area and watching with silent enthusiasm and sorrow.

Lard Nar, leader of the Resisty, gave a speech about the bravery and heroism of the valiant Resisty men and women who died for their freedoms from under the boot of tyranny, but also the bravery of the soldiers fighting with loyalty to their Empire, however misled they were. There was a long silence as everyone paid their respects. After the silence, Gir approached the statue and placed a single, perfect cupcake at the foot of the statue resembling Vem before bowing slightly and backing away towards his master and friends. That lightened the mood slightly and even Gaz grinned a little at the kind gesture. 'Cupcake of Honour'. Very Gir-like.

Hours later when the majority of the mourners had left Dib, Gaz, Tak, Zim, Gir and MiMi still stayed. Dib looked over at Tak and saw she was beginning to show while Gaz hadn't even started yet. Zim had told him Irken pregnancies are notoriously short. "Any ideas on what we're naming… it?" Dib asked, not quite sure what the smeet would be.

Tak rubbed her belly slightly. "It's a male." She informed him with a smile, "And I'm thinking of a traditional Irken name for strength and valour, courage, commitment, and honour." Tak put emphasis on each trait and Dib smiled as he continued to look at the statue. "I couldn't agree more." He said. Tak smiled and the two held hands as they left.

"Have you decided a name for our own smeet, my precious Gaz-flower?" Zim asked. "I don't know. I kind of want to name her after myself, but that seems rather… vain." Gaz replied. Zim began placing letters in his head. "How about Dizzy?" He asked after several moments' concentration. Gaz raised an eyebrow at him. "Dizzy?" She asked, "Alright. Dizzy Gazlene Membrane… What's your 'last name'?" She asked.

Zim took a knee and Gaz continued to eye him questioningly. "I shall tell you if you choose to wear it as your own." Zim said, pulling an Irken ring of purple composite metal and a large sapphire on it. Gaz's heart stopped for a moment, but only her blushing cheeks showed it. "What?" She demanded clarification.

"Gaz-flower, will you marry me and join me in not-so-inferior human matrimony?" Zim asked. Gaz smiled, picked Zim up and kissed him. "You're an idiot to ask." She told him after they broke apart. Zim slipped the ring on her finger and whispered his chosen last name in her ear. A rare moment occurred when Gaz let out a fierce rift of laughter.

"That's your last name?" She asked, catching her breath. "Yes! Why, is it not good?" Zim asked. Gaz shook her head. "No, it's just… it's just weird." She noted as she reverted back to her Gaz-ness.

They took each other's hands and followed Dib and Tak's path out of the memorial. Gir and MiMi remained for a few moments longer. MiMi was out of disguise while Gir still wore the puppy suit.

"Why do you still where that thing?" MiMi inquired. Gir shrugged. "I just likes stuff like that." He said before wagging his tail. MiMi studied him a moment longer. She leaned over and placed her head against his for a second before quickly departing. It had looked like she placed where her mouth was supposed to be on Gir's cheek.

Gir stood there for a moment and rubbed the area she had just 'kissed'. That was the first sign of affection anyone on the planet had really given Gir other than the occasional friendly or brotherly banter with Zim. Gir smiled again before following MiMi out of the memorial.

And so the war-torn began to shift back to normal, new life on the horizon to replace those that had been lost. Happiness replacing the sorrow. Love replacing the hate.

**Chapter 41 Completed, please R&R**

**First off, I'd like to thank DaniErufuun for letting me use the 'cupcake of honour' idea; brilliance on their part! Take a bow, if you would! Second, I'd like to just say this fic is taking a close with the next chapter, the epilogue. By the way, it's another time skip :P**


	42. Epilogue

-A few months later…-

Dib sat with his wife and their child, little Vem Dibbeh Zimmerman-Membrane. Dibbeh wasn't the actual full middle name, but it was a much more fun name to use. They sat in the waiting room with a very nervous Zim. He was sweating profusely at the wait and was finally called in to help with the birthing. Dib and Tak followed with Vem safely in their arms.

Zim and Gaz had gotten married several months before with a large successful wedding and Tak had given birth just a few days after. The little smeet in her arms was testament to that. Vem, named after their late friend who ended the Battle of Earth and saved billions of lives, was a small, light-maroon-eyed smeet, the eyes and several other features a side-effect of Dib's human DNA overruling Zim's DNA.

Zim was holding Gaz's hand as she birthed the unrelated cousin. Zim winced in pain at the increasingly tighter grip of his beloved Gaz-flower, but he withstood the pain. None of the group of four regretted their decisions to have their smeets/children. Finally Gaz passed the child and began to relax.

"What shall the name be?" The nurse asked after she handed the small, pale and green-tinged baby to its parents. "Dizzy Gazlene Membrane-Schultzerfelt." Gaz and Zim recited flawlessly. Tak and Dib sniggered. "'Schultzerfelt'? Are you serious, Zim?" Tak asked. Zim scowled. "We were pretending to be foreigners and you chose a German name, so I chose one as well." He argued. Dib shook his head. "Schultzerfelt sounds German, but I doubt there's a person on this planet with that name." He replied.

Gaz stuck her tongue out. "I have that name. So does Zim and our daughter, so neh to you." Dib rolled his eyes. His sister was much more playful and cheery on medication this powerful but even then it was little more than dull effort. Dib looked out the window of the hospital room.

"It's going to be a beautiful day. I can already tell." He said as he studied the birds flying with the sunrise in the background behind the cityscape. It was one of the few times of the day that the grey city was colourful and it was always a breathtaking sight. The other two occasions were rush hour when everyone was out and occasionally colourful and sunset.

Zim and Gaz were too focused and involved in their newborn daughter to focus on the sunset. To them the child was more beautiful than a million sunsets. Tak was nodding agreement though as she held Vem up. "It will be." She agreed.

Tak and Dib held hands as they watched Gaz and Zim. "She shall be the mightiest smeet ever!" Zim declared, "Just like her father and mother!" Gaz was playing with the little swirl of dark purple on the infant's head as Zim praised her.

Tak looked around for a moment after feeling something misplaced. "Where are MiMi and Gir?" She asked to no one in particular. Dib and Zim began to look around the room until Dib spotted them out the window.

"They're out having fun." He explained simply, smiling. Tak let out a soft 'aw' at the sight as Zim explained what was taking place to the ditsy Gaz.

…

Gir had run off from the screams of pain Gaz was emitting and MiMi had followed him out of the hospital. Gir began smiling and dancing playfully on the sidewalk. "Gir, what are you doing? I thought you were saddened?" MiMi asked the dancing robot.

"The scary lady was in pain. I don'ts like pain too much." Gir explained. MiMi stood for a moment, figuring now would be a good time to ask Gir his feelings for her. She'd displayed her affection towards him a few months back but was disappointed that he seemed to have virtually dismissed them.

"So, what do you like?" She asked, rocking on her robotic heels. Gir smiled. "I like tacos, and piggies, and toquitos," Gir began ecstatically. MiMi's optic twitched for a moment as she realized how long this was going to take. Quite a bit later Gir began finishing his list and MiMi was beginning to refocus on her spastic companion.

"And dancing, and cookies!" Gir said, "But most of all, I likes my master and the scary girl and yous, kitty!" Gir then brought the stunned MiMi in for an embrace, but unlike his previously overpowering hugs, this one was gentle and serene. "I loves you, MiMi. You is like the best girly-friend I've ever had! I'm glad you're always nearby." He said softly.

MiMi's circuits were on the verge of overheating. If she had skin and blood her cheeks would be tomato coloured at this point. "I-I love you too, Gir." She replied softly, albeit electronically. They stood there for several moments.

"Gir, what did you say about loving to dance?" MiMi asked after a moment. Gir smiled. "I know all kinds of dances! Would you like to learn something fancy or something fun and cool?" Gir asked, his ecstatic attitude never faltering. "How about something… romantic?" MiMi suggested as she stroked Gir's face gently. The feeling of metal on metal was oddly warm.

"Oh, alright." Gir smiled warmly. He began dancing the waltz with MiMi in the middle of the hospital parking lot, not realizing they were being watched by their masters and mistresses just a few stories above them.

…

A few days later the two old friends/enemies, Irken and human, got together away from their families for a moment to look out at the city from atop their old skool. They both had their preferred drink in hand: Poop brand cola for Dib and an Irken imported soda for Zim.

They were watching the sunset go by before heading back to their families. They'd been doing it once a week ever since the end of the Battle for Earth. They planned on inviting their wives to do it when the children were older, but for now both fathers were overly-defensive of their newborns.

"So, do you regret our decision, Dib-friend?" Zim asked, adding a suffix out of the desire of old habits. Dib smiled. "Not in the slightest." He responded. "You regret the life debt?" He asked his alien friend. Zim smiled. "Not at all."

They stood there for a moment longer as the last rays of sunlight passed away. "It's been a good life." Dib noted. "It sure has. But just think: it's only just begun for us." Zim stated. Dib smiled and nodded agreement.

It was a beautiful thing and he wouldn't change a damn thing about it.

**Chapter 42 Complete, please R&R**

**STORY OVAH! Anyway, sorry for the short ending and the fact it took several days to finish :/**

**Bad Nitocolus! Bad! But, this is how I chose to end it. I'm sorry if the ending totally ruined the rest of the story and I hope you will forgive me. Endings are my archenemy; they seek to destroy me, they do.**

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**Anyway, it's been great and thank you everyone for your reviews and favourites! This has been my longest fic ever and the most fun one I've ever worked on! Thank you readers and reviewers for keeping me going till I finished it! I loves ya!**

**Nitto, out!**


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